Latino Vote 2012: Latinos Increasingly Enthusiastic Just One Week Before Election, 8 Percent Have Already Voted

A new impreMedia-Latino Decisions tracking poll reveals that Latinos are increasingly more enthusiastic about voting and are more likely to vote than ten weeks ago when election tracking began. According to the poll, which was released on Monday, 45 percent of Latino voters said they were enthusiastic about voting in 2012 compared to 2008.

The impreMedia-Latino Decisions poll revealed that 87 percent of Latino voters stated they were "almost certain" that they would vote on Election Day, a three-percentage-point increase from a 2008 Census statistic. Of the 87 percent who were "almost certain" they would vote, eight percent said they already cast their vote.

According to the poll's results, many Latino voters do not think it matters which candidate is president when it comes to dealing with many issues. In regards to immigration reform, 52 percent believe that things will fare better under an Obama administration but 37 percent believe it will not matter which candidate wins.

The latest results also revealed that there is a 52-point gap between support for President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney. Obama leads among Latino registered voters with 73 percent, compared to Romney's 21 percent.

ImpreMedia-Latino Decisions have been tracking Latino voters for the past 10 weeks on their opinions regarding the upcoming presidential election. According to their polls, Latinos have consistently named the economy as their top priority.

"The latest release revealed that Romney and the Republican Party have been unable to convince Latino voters that they will be better at improving it," the poll report stated. The results found that 73 percent of Latino voters believe Obama and the Democratic Party will make the right decisions concerning the economy, compared to 18 percent who believe Romney and the Republican Party will make the right decisions.

Monica Lozano, CEO of impreMedia, stated, "The poll shows that this year we can anticipate record participation among Latino voters. However, Latinos are also realistic about what it will take to make real progress on the issues they care about, especially given the lack of cooperation among our elected representatives in Congress."

The Latino Decisions report revealed that the number of Latinos certain they were going to vote has risen in the past few weeks, as well as the level of voter enthusiasm among Latino voters.

Matt Barreto, co-founder of Latino Decisions said, "The candidates now have one week left to make their case to Latino voters.  While Obama has maintained a large lead among Latinos throughout the campaign, the data shows that over one-third of Latino voters are not sure that things will actually improve under a second Obama term."

"In particular, the tracking data has consistently shown that Latino voters blame fighting in Congress as the reason the economy has not recovered, and on this issue over 40% think that regardless of who wins - Obama or Romney - that neither candidate can bring cooperation to Washington D.C.," Barreto added.  

"In the final week of this campaign, the candidates need to connect with Latino voters and explain how they will somehow be able to break the impasse in Congress and get things done," he said.

The final report by impreMedia and Latino Decisions will be released on Monday, November 5.