English Proficiency and Latino Participation in U.S. Elections

This article focuses on how the ability to speak and read English affects Latino citizens’ participation in U.S. elections, and evaluates the extent to which this language barrier might be overcome by living in a community with a relatively large Latino population and having access to registration materials and ballots in Spanish. Using data primarily from the Pew Hispanic Center, we find that the inability to speak and read English hinders registration and turnout among Latino citizens. While the language barrier to turnout is mitigated by several factors, the barrier to registration is more intractable. These results have implications for researchers and practitioners interested in the political participation of this increasingly prominent group. In particular, understanding the role of English proficiency is a critical first step in thinking about policy prescriptions that will bring into the political process a growing number of Latino citizens, particularly those with limited English skills.