Pre-election poll shows Latino voters focused on immigration issue

An election eve poll of nearly 5,000 Latino voters nationwide and in key 2014 states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Nevada, North Carolina and Texas) provides new insights into Latino voter behavior in the 2014 elections.  Below are select results on key issues released as part of the first installment of the election eve poll.

Additional national and state data will be released as the polls close in each state tonight; check www.latinovote2014.com for updates throughout the evening.

The remaining questions will be released in a press conference on Wednesday at 12:30pm eastern.  Reporters may obtain a copy of this data under embargo starting at 9am on Wednesday.  The embargo lifts at 12:30pm that day.  To obtain the embargoed results, email katy@newpartners.com.

For now, here is the data from our 1pm eastern release:

• IMMIGRATION THE TOP ISSUE FACING THE LATINO COMMUNITY: National: A plurality of 45% of Latino voters nationwide said immigration reform was the most important issue facing the Latino community that politicians should address; 34% ranked the economy or job creation first, while 21% mentioned education/schools, and 17% said health care. (For state by state results click here.)

• LATINOS #1 REASON TO VOTE? TO SUPPORT THE LATINO COMMUNITY, NOT EITHER PARTY: A plurality of Latino voters nationwide, 37%, said they were voting in 2014 to “support the Latino community,” while 34% said they were voting to support the Democratic candidate and 16% said they were voting to support the Republican candidate. (For state by state results click here.)

• TWO-THIRDS OF LATINOS SAY IMMIGRATION WAS THE MOST/ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUES IN VOTING DECISIONS: A combined two-thirds of Latino voters nationwide (67%) said that the issue of immigration was either the most important issue in their decision to vote and their candidate preference (33% said “the most”) or “one of the important issues” (34%).  An additional 19% said immigration was “somewhat important” while only 9% said immigration was “not really important” to their voting decisions.  (For state by state results click here.)

• 58% OF LATINO VOTERS NATIONWIDE KNOW AN UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANT: Underscoring the personal relevance of the immigration debate for many respondents, 58% of Latino voters nationwide report knowing an undocumented immigrant, while 35% of Latino voters did not.   (For state by state results click here.)

The poll was conducted by Latino Decisions.  The original sponsors for the poll are America’s Voice, Latino Victory Project, and the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), and they have been joined by the following partners: AFL-CIO, Mi Familia Vota, NALEO Educational Fund and People For the American Way.