Editor's note: As President Barack Obama and GOP candidate Mitt Romney court the Latino vote, CNN takes an in-depth look at this complex and diverse community, what matters most to Latino voters, and how their vote will influence the November elections.
Washington (CNN) – Mariam "Mimi" Bell, a Latina Republican from Colorado, resents the implication that Hispanic voters are somehow negatively affected by the state's new voter identification law.
"It's insulting when they say we're going to disenfranchise the Hispanics," Bell said of the law that requires voters to present an ID such as a driver's license, passport, utility bill or birth certificate to vote. The suggestion, Bell said, is "because we're Hispanics we're inept to get an ID."
The debate over the wave of voter identification laws cropping up in more than 30 states is playing out against the backdrop of the 2012 general election's high-profile fight for Latino voters.
The two presidential candidates hold widely divergent views on the matter.
What defines you? Maybe it’s the shade of your skin, the place you grew up, the accent in your words, the make up of your family, the gender you were born with, the intimate relationships you chose to have or your generation? As the American identity changes we will be there to report it. In America is a venue for creative and timely sharing of news that explores who we are. Reach us at inamerica@cnn.com.
© 2012 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
| Advertise with us | About us | Help | Advertising Practices
How many times to i come across the same article...OK I WILL EXPLAIN IT AGAIN...you have to be an American citizen (USA) to vote! So if you are a citizen...i dont care if youre from freaking mars...go to the DMV with 25$...youll get a non driver ID and you can register to vote. Not requiring ID says only one thing to me...American citizens dont vote for liberal socialist communists...they need the illegal votes or they would be voted out of our country.
If indeed the perception is that Hispanic voters are inept to obtain an I.D. because of the illegal immigrants among us, then the generalization is outweighed by the letter of justification of the law, as long as ALL voters are required to present I.D. If the perception, however, comes about because we Hispanics are somehow being innuendoed as second-class citizens unworthy of casting our vote, then the generalization is discriminatory and the I.D. process should be overseen by an "impartial arbiter" (the federal government, as in the enforcement of the Civil Rights Act during the '60s in the South).
Jorge...Mitt Romney is the son of a hispanic mexican immigrant. A persons last name name DOES not define a persons complexion...yes you morons that even claim a race...are defining yourself by how close you and your anscestors were in relation to the equator.
Whats the big deal? a united states citizen would not vote for a candidate who wants to join a one world government.( the dems want to ram the lost treaty through congress creating a one world government )
Oh pls hamsta.. who let you out of your cage! The Dems have no interest in a one-govt world, and neither does the GOP!
Voter fraud is a virtual myth perpetuated by the GOP in order to disenfranchise the Dem voter block. The GOP is trying to remove 80,000 voters ( mostly minorities) in FL again, because that's the only way they will get Mittens to win there. If not, their hope is that the Conservative-leaning (5-4) SCOTUS will elect the President AGAIN!