The primaries are right around the corner for the 2016 presidential election. They take place Tuesday, April 26, for Pennsylvania and Tuesday, June 7, for New Jersey. There are five candidates left. For the Democratic party there is Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. For the Republican party there are three candidates. Donald Trump, John Kasich and Ted Cruz are those hoping to represent the GOP (Grand Old Party).
Always a hot topic during the election, many pundits and researchers are trying to gauge who minority voters are going for. After showing record support for President Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, many are wondering if non-white voters are going to show the same level of turnout now that there are no African American and just one ethnic candidate, Cuban-American Ted Cruz.
According to the PewResearch Center, the 2016 presidential election is on schedule to be the most racially diverse election with 31 percent of voters believed to be either Asian, black, Latino, or another ethnicity. The number of eligible white voters has only grown by 12 percent since 2012, while black eligible voters have gone up by six percent. Asian voters have grown by 16 percent and Hispanic eligible voters have risen by 17 percent.
While Hispanics make up the largest group of minorities and the record of turnout has increased in the last two elections, many of them are still not turning out to vote. In 2012, only 48 percent of eligible Latino voters cast a ballot compared to 66 percent of blacks voting and 64 percent of whites voting.
Sophomore criminology major and president of Pura Vida Cali-Ani Diaz thinks she knows a few reasons why they do not turn out.
“From working the polls and living in an area with a lot of Latinos… most of them feel as though there are not any candidates that can help them. They don’t understand what they are going through, they feel like they aren’t being heard. Growing up in a Latino community, most of them fight to be listened to and they are not. There are people that do not understand the concepts of what the presidential candidates want, translation, and they don’t feel represented. These are the reasons why many don’t vote. They feel like they won’t receive what they need,” Diaz said
Freshman marketing major Danielle Perez has a similar viewpoint to Diaz when it comes to Latinos not voting.
“I think it’s because probably their fear that maybe their vote won’t count, and what they are saying or what they think won’t really matter. But I also think they feel like they don’t really know what to say, or they think it doesn’t concern me so I’ll let them take care of it,” Perez said. “I feel like we have to emphasize the fact that they matter and that everything that goes on now affects them as well. Because I know as a Latino the main thing we are taught is that education is important. I feel like if that’s the case you should be informed and should know what’s going on. You should go out and get your own information and see what’s really happening.”
Speaking of being informed, junior business major Colby Morton says that this is the most involved he’s been in a presidential election.
“I feel like I’m more involved because of social media this year in the election. I don’t really watch the news on television. I can just look on Twitter and see people talking about it. In class we talk about it more than other than any other year I can remember,” said Morton.
Junior psychology major Trevon Zimmer says the daily grind of school has made it difficult to keep up with the election.
“To be honest I would say I’m not that engaged. I’ve been worried about everything else, school and work. I seen a couple of things here and there, but most of it has been about Donald Trump,” Zimmer said.
Trump without a doubt has been this election’s controversial lighting rod with racial undertones, stereotyping, military strategy and foreign policy. Avoiding television media, Trump has been campaigning almost exclusively on social media. He has been called out for many of his quotes and backers, leaving many with an unpopular opinion of him.
“I personally haven’t liked them. I don’t think they are based on anything factual. You have to kind of see where he is coming from. Not defending him necessarily, but when people say racial things it is usually based on ignorance and a lack of knowing. Overall it’s just not good,” Perez said.
“I don’t really like him, but if somebody out there likes him… free country. His views on women, people of different races other than his own, his tax plan, foreign policy, how we should fight ISIS. I don’t agree with it,” Morton said.
“People say he has a lot of good ideas. He might, but he’s not willing to listen to anybody else. When he speaks you hear it in his tone, he’s so full of himself. I don’t think a man so full of himself is fit to run a country,” Zimmer said.
One candidate that got a ringing endorsement is Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton.
“Number one; she’s a women. I like the concepts of what she wants to for minorities and how she works with the community. I feel as though she is strong enough to represent our country in the right way. She won’t just push all of Obama’s work into the background and she listens,” Diaz said.
Bernie Sanders is also a candidate that has had an impression on minority Cabrini students.
“I just like the fact his focus isn’t on one specific group. He’s pointing out a lot of issues that are prominent right now. The middle-class, lower income families, inequalities in our systems. I feel like those are the issues that need to be discussed right now and he’s talking about all of them.” Perez said.
“I feel like he’s really for the people. Not just the rich, not just the poor, not the middle class. He wants to give everybody equal opportunity to be great in this country.” Morton said.
