Latino Voter Poll 2012: Latino Voters Highly Engaged as Support for Obama Rises

The latest results of the impreMedia-Latino Decisions tracking poll revealed an increased level of interest and engagement among Latino voters in the upcoming elections, as well as renewed support for President Barack Obama. According to the poll, 45 percent of Latino voters reported attempting to influence friends or family in their election decision.

 A 2008 American National Election study reported that 45 percent of all voters attempted to influence other voters, which suggests that Latino voters in 2012 are as engaged in the election process as all voters were in 2008. Fourteen percent of Latino voters also reported to have tried to help others register or volunteered for a campaign, Latino Decisions said.

The poll also found that enthusiasm among Latino voters has jumped from 51 percent last week to 56 percent this week.

Monica Lozano, CEO of impreMedia, said, "This week's survey indicates that Latino voters are one of the most highly engaged groups in the election. This has implications for both candidates, but is an especially positive force for President Obama who is still highly favored by Latinos."

According to the Latino Decisions' report, Latinos between the ages of 45 and 65 were the most engaged this election season. The poll found that 89 percent of voters within that age group expected to vote and 68 percent said they were enthusiastic. Among Latinos 45-65 years old, 59 percent said they have tried to influence other voters and 28 percent have volunteered for a campaign.

Overall, 84 percent of Latino voters in this week's poll reported that they were certain to vote in this year's election.

President Obama experienced a jump in this week's poll, reaching 71 percent of support among Latino voters, up from 67 percent last week. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, on the other hand, experienced a slight drop in this week's poll, falling from 23 percent last week to 20 percent this week.

Although Romney has seen a surge among national polls, even surpassing Obama in some polls, he has received very low support among Latino voters. According to Latino Decisions, if national polls are "not accurately polling and counting Latino voters which will comprise 10 percent of all voters, they may be overstating Romney's numbers by 2 or 3 points."

Lozano added, "Obama may have lost some ground nationally, but out 9 weeks of polling indicate he has retained consistent support from Latino voters, and they are likely to be a decisive factor in his re-election effort."

With close to two weeks left before the election, Obama will have to maintain the support of Latino voters, while trying to recapture voters nationwide. Obama and Romney will meet one last time before the election on Monday night for the third presidential debate at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla., where the discussion on foreign policy will be moderated by Bob Schieffer.