OVERWHELMINGLY DISSATISFIED, LATINOS VOTE FOR CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS ON ELECTION DAY

News release from the Willie Velasquez Southwest Voter Institute. -Angela
November 8, 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact Michael Bustamante
916.425.0839

OVERWHELMINGLY DISSATISFIED, LATINOS VOTE FOR CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS ON ELECTION DAY
Want Troops Home Next Year

LOS ANGELES, CA - Nearly two-thirds of Latino voters are dissatisfied with the way things are going in the United States at this time and nearly seventy percent of them voted for a democratic congressional candidate, according to a national exit survey conducted yesterday by the William C. Velasquez Institute (WCVI), a non-partisan public policy organization chartered in 1985.

For whom did you vote in your Congressional District race?
National Topline:
Democratic Candidate 68.9%  
Republican Candidate 26.5%
Other Candidate 4.6%

"Latinos are not happy with the way things are going right now and they spoke up forcefully at the polls yesterday for change," said Antonio Gonzalez, president of the WCVI.  "Latinos want our U.S. troops home now."

Do you favor keeping a large number of U.S. troops in Iraq until there is a stable government OR bringing most of our troops home in the next year?
National Topline:
Wait for a Stable Government 25.8%
Bring Home Next Year 61.0%
Unsure 13.3%

In addition to voicing their dissatisfaction with the way things are going (66.3%), Latinos overwhelmingly support bringing most of our troops home within the next year (61%), compared to only 25.8% who believe that we ought to keep a large number of troops in Iraq until there is a stable government.

Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way things are going in the United States at this time?
National Topline:
Satisfied 20.9%
Dissatisfied 66.3%
Unsure 12.8%

Across the country, 68.9% of Latinos voted for a democratic congressional candidate while only 26.5% voted for a republican.  In California the results were similar to the national findings.  Fully 64.9% voted for a democratic congressional candidate while only 28.1% voted for the republican.  Both Florida and Texas were similar to California in their votes, with 64.5% voting for democrats and 33.2% voting for republicans in Florida and 63% of democrats receiving support to 33.2% for republicans in Texas.

About the Exit Survey
The William C. Velasquez Institute conducted exit surveys of 3,138 respondents among Latino voters from 53 precincts in 8 states, which comprise 82% of all registered Latino voters. States included Florida, Arizona, New Mexico, California, Texas, New York, New Jersey and Illinois.  Simultaneously, WCVI also conducted separate exit surveys of Latino voters in California, Florida and Texas. WCVI Pollsters conducted 1,013 exit interviews in California, 763 exit interviews in Florida, and 572 exit interviews in Texas.  The national margin or error is about +/- 2% while the state samples are between 3.5% for CA and FL and 4.5% for TX.

About the William C. Velasquez Institute
Chartered in 1985, The William C. Velásquez Institute (WCVI) is a non-profit, non-partisan Latino-oriented research and policy think tank with offices in San Antonio, Texas, Los Angeles, California and Miami, Florida. For more information regarding WCVI, please visit our website at www.wcvi.org

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William C. Velasquez Institute
National Office
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San Antonio, TX 78228
(210) 922-3118
California Office
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