Maryland
In Takoma Park Maryland, immigrants initially voted at nearly comparable rates as citizen voters in districts where they were concentrated during the 1990s. However, after September 11th, with the increase of anti-immigrant sentiment and federal enforcement, their turnout declined. Other factors also appear to have contributed, including declining public awareness and electoral competitiveness.
Yet, in other Maryland towns, immigrant voting increased. For example, Hyattsville’s election’s office recently devoted additional staff time to voter outreach, education and registration. Staff employed use of social media to get the word out, especially paid locally-targeted advertising in Spanish on Facebook, introduced same-day voter registration for local elections, and conducted a fully mail-in election for the first time – all of which boosted voter turnout by immigrants.
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Ron Hayduk
rhayduk@sfsu.edu
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