Posted by Kellie Ryan on December 17, 2015 at 1:24 PM

Many Arizona Latinos Dissatisfied with Two Major Political Parties

This radio program aired on Arizona Public Radio.

A new study shows many of Arizona’s Latino voters are dissatisfied with the two major political parties. Arizona Public Radio’s Ryan Heinsius reports.

The study was commissioned by Open Primaries, a group that advocates for nonpartisan elections. It surveyed 1,500 out of the state’s more than 600,000 registered Latino voters including independents, Republicans and Democrats.

More than half do not vote because they feel candidates don’t care about their communities. And nearly three-quarters of Latino voters feel elected officials are more loyal to their party than their constituents.

A separate study conducted by Pew Hispanic Research before the 2014 midterm elections, showed Democrats had lost ground with Latinos nationally. But 63 percent still identified with the party. About 27 percent of U.S. Latinos leaned toward the Republican Party.

Latinos make up about a fifth of the state’s registered voters and are the fastest growing population in Arizona.

Listen to the program