UCI

Irvine, Calif. – A UC Irvine survey that measures the political attitudes of Latinos in Orange County provides a glimpse of how this rapidly growing segment of the population—considered by some to be a "sleeping giant"—might shape the future.
Latinos, who represent one quarter of the county’s population, have the potential to be a powerful political force, but the 1997 Orange County Annual Survey shows that the political landscape in Orange County isn’t likely to change dramatically if this group begins going to the polls in large numbers.
"For the most part, Latinos’ beliefs mirror those of the rest of the county’s population," said UCI professor Mark Baldassare, who conducted the survey along with research associate Cheryl Katz. "The stereotype of Latinos as being more liberal—like old-time New Deal Democrats—than the rest of the population is not true. Latinos are pretty much in the mainstream of politics in Orange County—they’re just not participating in the process."
The survey finds that four in 10 Latinos have little or no interest in politics, and three in 10 follow political news infrequently at best. Forty-two percent of Latinos say they never vote.
"Latinos could make a big difference if a specific issue were to motivate them to become politically active—and they could give a significant boost to any party that is able to mobilize them," said Baldassare, who is professor and chair of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning in the UCI School of Social Ecology.
Baldassare’s observations are based on a random-sample telephone survey of 1,002 adult residents that was conducted Sept. 4-14. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percent. The survey included about 200 Latino respondents, and interviewing was conducted in English and Spanish.
The survey shows that, like most other residents, the majority of Latinos consider themselves middle-of-the-road to somewhat conservative. Their views are similar to those of non-Hispanic whites on such issues as government regulations, the environment, the attentiveness of elected officials, federal income taxes and homosexuality.
However, Latinos are less likely than non-Hispanic whites to see immigrants as a burden, to say that the government can’t afford to do more to help the needy, and to view the government as wasteful and inefficient.
"Perhaps because they have been disengaged from the political process, Latinos are less cynical about politics than other residents," Baldassare said. "They don’t share the distrust in government that is so prevalent in Orange County."
The 1997 Orange County Annual Survey is the 16th conducted by Baldassare, who currently is a senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California, where he is writing a book about the Orange County bankruptcy.