ABOUT | METHODOLOGY | KEY FINDINGS | LATINO VOTER PERCEPTIONS OF THE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE IN ARIZONA | WHY ARE LATINO VOTERS UNDERPERFORMING? | INSIGHTS INTO THE INDEPENDENT VOTER | PROFILE OF THE ARIZONA VOTER | CONTACT

Arizona Latino Voter Attitude Survey

About

Open Primaries is a movement of diverse Americans who believe in a simple, yet radical idea: no American should be required to join a political party to exercise his or her right to vote.

The mission of Open Primaries is to advocate for open and nonpartisan primary systems, counter efforts to impose closed primaries, educate voters, train and support spokespeople, and participate in the building of local, state and national open primaries coalitions.

Methodology

Study of Arizona Latino Voters Methodology Statement

The Open Primaries - Arizona Latino Voter Study was a survey of 1500 Latino Registered Voters conducted from November 6th through November 15th, 2015 by Bendixen & Amandi International. The 1500 completed interviews were equally divided between high frequency voters (defined as those who had participated in 3 or 4 of the last 4 elections) and low frequency voters (defined as those who had participated in 0, 1 or 2 of the last 4 elections) and were further divided in each group to properly represent Latino voter registration in each of Arizona’s 9 Congressional Districts. Registered Democrats, Republicans and Independent voters were all included in the sample.

The sample selection process for this study was a representative random sample of registered Latino voters using a nth sample selection process including both landlines and cell phones across the Arizona database of registered voters. The process for selecting Latino registered voters from these voter files is extremely accurate. The respondents were interviewed by professionally trained bi-lingual interviewers and were provided with language of choice interviewing either to have the survey conducted in English or Spanish. This study has a margin of error of +/- 2.5% at a 95% level of confidence.

Respondents were advised that the survey is being conducted by an independent research organization and that we will not attempt to sell anything to them. Additionally, respondents were advised that all responses are kept strictly confidential and none of the answers they provided will be attributed to them personally or associated with their name or personal information. All respondents were screened to ensure that they were Latino, over the age of 18 and registered to vote.

Key Findings

Latino voters in Arizona are disillusioned with the state of politics. 75% believe that elected officials are mainly loyal to their party, not their constituents. 93% support changes to the electoral system that would foster more accountability. 90% of Latinos think their community needs new strategies and new ways of empowerment.

Latinos respect the electoral gains they have made within the Democratic Party, but also believe it is important to make inroads within the Republican Party. They understand the growing trend towards independence (41% of Arizona Latinos are now registered to vote as independents), and express a strong desire to vote for the best candidates, regardless of party.

Latinos are critical of government leaders for failing to bring Arizonans together across cultures, and 67% express concern that they are rarely if ever contacted by candidates asking for their votes.

Latino Voter Perceptions of the Political Landscape in Arizona

What do you consider to be the top issues facing the State of Arizona today?

Up to three responses accepted, total exceeds 100%

Arizona is a state with many different communities and cultures. How would you rate how successful Arizona’s government leaders have been in respecting all cultures in bringing people in the state together: Excellent, Good, Fair, or Poor?

By Party

Do you think the Latino community has the elected political representation that it needs?

By Party

Do you think your elected officials in the state legislature and in Congress are mainly loyal to their community or mainly loyal to the political party they belong to?

Would you support changes to our election system that would foster elected officials being more loyal and accountable to the voters?

Do you think we need new strategies and new ways for empowerment?

A group of Latino Republican leaders held a press conference recently criticizing some Republican presidential candidates for demeaning remarks about immigration. Do you expect the Republican Party will take action in response?

Latinos are the fastest growing segment of the population in Arizona and represent a large portion of Arizona’s registered voters. 21% of all eligible voters in Arizona are Latino and that number is projected to be 25% by 2030. However, Latinos only represented 14% of votes cast in the last election.

I’d like to read you a few statements about why Latinos in Arizona may not be voting. For each statement please tell me whether you think the statement is true or false.

People are too busy to vote.

The important political decisions are made before people get to vote. So it doesn’t matter who the people vote for.

By Party

Most politicians don’t understand or care about the Latino community, so why bother to vote?

By Party

Most politicians don’t understand or care about the Latino community, so why bother to vote?

By Language of Interview

Candidates rarely contact us, and we don’t really understand the choices.

Why Are Latino Voters Underperforming?

Summary

Historically, the majority of the Latino electorate in Arizona has tended to support the Democratic Party and Democratic candidates and has become an important element of the Democratic coalition in the state. This has resulted in a number of elected Latino members of Congress, the state legislature, and local government.

I’d like to ask you a few questions about the historic linkages between the Latino community and the Democratic Party in Arizona. For each of the following statements, please tell me whether you agree or disagree with the statement.

The Democrats in Arizona have no power so even when Latinos are elected as Democrats they cannot accomplish anything.

By Age

The Democrats in Arizona have no power so even when Latinos are elected as Democrats they cannot accomplish anything.

By Language of Interview

Republicans are the majority party in Arizona and don't care about Latino issues, Latinos should become more active in the Republican Party because there is power in the majority.

By Party

Latinos are on the right track in Arizona. It’s just a matter of time before Latinos gain more influence. The Latino community should stick with the Democrats.

While many Latino Democrats have been elected to office they have not been able to deliver on the issues the Latino community cares about.

Insights into the Independent Voter

41% of Arizona Latinos are registered to vote as independents. Among young voters, it is even higher.

I’d like to read you a few statements about why Latinos in Arizona may be registering as independents. For each statement please tell me whether you think the statement is true or false.