Lindsay Daniels, ldaniels@nclr.org
(202) 776-1572
Efrain Escobedo,eescobedo@naleo.org
(213) 747-7606

Jul 10, 2007

At the media kick-off event today for the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) Annual Conference in Miami, July 21-24, the NALEO Educational Fund, NCLR, ImpreMedia, and Univision – the leading Spanish-language media company – announced an unprecedented partnership, ¡ya es hora! (Now is the time!), that will seek to increase Latino voter participation in the 2008 presidential election. This campaign, also discussed at last month’s NALEO Conference in Orlando, follows the highly successful effort, ya es hora ¡Ciudadanía! (Now is the time – Citizenship!), which has helped to create near record increases in naturalization rates throughout the country (60% increase nationwide). This has been a broad-based effort which includes national partners such as the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the We Are America Alliance, along with a coalition of 300 regional and local organizations.

As the most comprehensive Latino civic engagement initiative in recent history, ¡ya es hora! seeks to dramatically increase Latino voter participation in both the presidential primaries and the general election. Weaving together an intensive national media campaign with an unprecedented and aggressive grassroots voter registration and Get Out The Vote (GOTV) field campaign, the campaign will mobilize community-based organizations and Latino voters in as many as 11 key states. The effort will target more than half a million unregistered, newly-registered, and young Latino voters – the fastest-growing, largest, and recently politicized sectors of the U.S. Latino electorate.

According to Florida State Representative Juan C. Zapata, member of the NALEO Board of Directors, “Latinos have been the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. electorate and are now poised to significantly affect 2008 electoral outcomes. Our effort seeks to ensure that eligible Latinos are meaningfully engaged, informed, and invited to be part of the American political process.”

Strategically, the campaign seeks to expand the Latino electorate in key battleground states, solidify the strength of the Latino vote in traditional Latino states, and help lay the foundation for a Latino electorate in nontraditional states where the Latino population has significantly increased in recent years. The strategy will establish Latinos as an important national electorate.

“The dramatic success of this year’s naturalization efforts demonstrates our community’s desire to help shape the future of our country at the ballot box,” said Janet Murguía, NCLR President and CEO. “This unprecedented effort will give Latinos the key to victory in 2008,” added Murguía. “The campaign will also build the capacities of local communities to engage in the electoral process for years to come,” concluded Murguía.

###

About the NALEO Educational Fund
The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund is the nation’s leading organization that promotes the full participation of Latinos in the American political process, from citizenship to public service. A nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization established in 1981, NALEO Educational Fund carries out its mission through programs that integrate Latinos fully into American political life, provide professional development opportunities and technical assistance to the nation’s more than 6,000 Latino elected and appointed officials, and monitor and conduct advocacy on issues important to the Latino community and their political participation.

About the National Council of La Raza
The National Council of La Raza (NCLR) – the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States – works to improve opportunities for Hispanic Americans. Through its network of nearly 300 affiliated community-based organizations (CBOs), NCLR reaches millions of Hispanics each year in 41 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. Founded in 1968, NCLR is a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan, tax-exempt organization headquartered in Washington, DC. NCLR serves all Hispanic subgroups in all regions of the country and has operations in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Phoenix, Sacramento, San Antonio, and San Juan, Puerto Rico.