UCI

Political Climate

This year, we take an in-depth look at the changing political landscape in Orange County. We see little difference when we compare the political orientation of Latinos, Asians and non-Hispanic whites. However, the rapidly growing Latino and Asian populations are much less politically involved. Six in 10 Orange County residents describe themselves as middle-of-the-road to somewhat conservative in their political ideology (59%). Two in 10 say they are somewhat liberal (21%). About one in 10 calls themselves either very liberal (9%) or very conservative (11%). Since 1990, there has been a trend toward the middle-of-the-road position (26% to 31%), while fewer residents call themselves conservative (46% to 39%).
Graph: Political Profiles

Non-Hispanic whites (62%), Latinos (54%) and Asians (57%) are all most likely to describe themselves as middle-of-the-road to somewhat conservative. While these overall trends are the same, more Latinos (34%) and Asians (36%) than non-Hispanic whites (26%) describe themselves as liberal. However, because Latinos are less likely than other groups to say they are strictly middle-of-the-road (24%), they are as likely as non-Hispanic whites to say they are conservative. Next, we look at three measures of political involvement, including political interest, attention to political news and voting participation. One in five Orange County residents has a great deal of interest in politics. About half have a fair amount and one in three reports having little or no interest. Those saying they have a great deal or a fair amount of interest in politics has increased since last year (59% to 66%). Non-Hispanic whites are more likely than Latinos or Asians to say they have at least a fair amount of interest (71% vs. 53% vs. 56%).
Graph: Interest in Politics

Four in 10 county residents say they follow what's going on in government and public affairs most of the time, one in three says some of the time and one in four says only now and then or hardly at all. The number saying they follow political news most of the time also has increased since last year (36% to 41%). Half of non-Hispanic whites (49%) follow political news most of the time, compared with fewer than one in four Latinos (24%) and Asians (22%). One in three Latinos and Asians is attending to news about government and public affairs on an infrequent basis.
Graph: Attention to Politics

About half of Orange County residents say they always vote, one in five says nearly always and one in three votes less often or never. In the 1997 survey, half also said they always voted, one in five nearly always and one in three less often. While half of non-Hispanic whites (56%) say they always vote, only a quarter of Latinos (26%) and Asians (27%) say they do not miss an election. Many Latinos (53%) and Asians (43%) say they never vote, compared with only 13% of non-Hispanic whites.
Graph: Political Participation

The separate findings on voter registration correspond with the low rates of political participation among Latinos and Asians. Fifty-one percent of Latinos say they are not registered to vote, compared with 40% of Asians and only 13% of non-Hispanic whites. While registration rates have been increasing in the Latino and Asian communities, they still fall far short of other groups.