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"If the importance of the Latino vote in this year&amp;#x27;s presidential election weren&amp;#x27;t already clear, two major events last week made sure to drive that point home: first, President Obama announced that he would defer deportations for some, younger undocumented immigrants (the Supreme Court has ruled on the contested Arizona immigration law, striking down most--but not all--of the the law; then, just days later, both the President and Mitt Romney made sure to show up to address the largest gathering of Latinos in the country: the 29th Annual NALEO conference in Florida. NALEO stands for the National Association of Latino Elected and appointed Officials, so both Governor Romney and President Obama didn&amp;#x27;t miss the chance to be in a room of very influential Latinos and try to rally voters to their side. The President&amp;#x27;s immigration announcement last week left Mr. Romney--who has touted self-deportation for illegal immigrants, and said in Republican debates that Arizona&amp;#x27;s harsh immigration enforcement law, SB 1070, should be a model for the nation--with some ground to make up with Latino Americans. Hispanics wanted to hear from Romney about, among other things, whether he would leave Mr. Obama&amp;#x27;s new policy in place, or if he would rescind it once he were in office. (Romney did address the subject, but with very few details, and no straight answer on the question). From President Obama, they wanted to hear if he would continue to support that issue, and others important to the Latino community. I was in the room during the President&amp;#x27;s speech, and I could see that he enjoyed more support from the attendees than his opponent. But if you&amp;#x27;re still asking why the President and Romney are so concentrated on Latino voters, just take a look at the sheer numbers: the last census showed that Latinos are 50 million strong in this country. That means:one in every six Americans is Latino every month, 50,000 Latinos turn 18 years old, and can head to the voting booths Latinos were considered a major factor in giving President Obama a victory in 2008, and the number of Hispanics who are expected to go to the polls this year is projected to increase by 26 percent over the last election And when talking about important voters in Election 2012, the other group getting this kind of laser focus from both campaigns is women. Everything from women&amp;#x27;s contraception and health care coverage to choosing to be a stay-at-home mom has become part of the election conversation--and research shows women turn out in higher numbers to the polls than men. With all those elements falling into place, Latinas have suddenly become a major force in this election. If you&amp;#x27;re a woman, and especially a Latina, and ever felt that you&amp;#x27;re just one vote, so yours wouldn&amp;#x27;t matter, you&amp;#x27;ve never had more of a chance to show that to be wrong than in this election. Latinas are even credited with being able to drive the votes of other members of their families--a Latino family will go the way the woman in their family goes. University of Texas Poli Sci Professor Victoria Soto calls this the phenomenon of the &amp;quot;Mama Latinas&amp;quot; (think soccer moms or Nascar dads). All of this means that as we get closer to November, you can decide to take advantage of your power: be a factor in choosing our next President. Be as informed as you can, be active, and especially, encourage all of your hermanas, and all women to show up on election day. Start getting ready to make the most intelligent and thought-out decision that you can, and then show up at the voting booths. Your vote is your voice. Never pass up a chance for your voice to be heard. Are you a Latina woman? Do you feel you have a stronger voice in this election than you did to the 2008 election? How about your peers? P.S. More from NALEO: Women aren&amp;#x27;t running for office as much as men--but these Latinas did, and they won...here&amp;#x27;s what you can learn from them, and how you can get involved in the election process even if you don&amp;#x27;t want to run! More on Election 2012: *Snap Judgement: Would You Donate to a Campaign Via Text Message? Now You Can! *Paycheck Fairness Act: Should You Care That It Failed? *Working on a Presidential Campaign: &amp;quot;It&amp;#x27;s One Giant Summer Camp Whirlwind&amp;quot; Photo: Getty Images"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.glamour.com/inspired/blogs/the-conversation/2012/06/election-2012-latinas-youre-a>