When Daniel Pichardo is going to vote on November 4 it will not do it just for expiring with a civil duty. It will be the moment for that he has been waiting since it swore like citizen of the United States. At his 26 years, this will be the first time for that he will vote in a presidential election and it glides to get up early to do the line.

Daniel is one of seven brothers born in Dominican Republic, five of which are naturalized citizens of the United States. Between the ages from 22 to 31 years, they are part of the sector of major and more rapid growth between the electorate. Of 17 million eligible Hispanics to vote in the United States, 40-year-old minors are the half and it is anticipated that 50.000 Latin Americans come at the age of voting every month.

“ Latin vote”, not lucrative and not partisan organization does all the possible to make sure that the suitable Latin young people to vote should take part in the electoral process. The potential is immense. During the last year the institution joined the national effort to register voters. Across the first campaign of record of electorate by means of text messages in cell phones, “Latin Vote” managed to register approximately 30.000 young people between the ages of 18 and 34 in New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado, Florida and Texas.
The opposite to the popular belief of which the young voters do not go to the urns for lethargy or apathy, a survey realized by “Latin Vote” showed that the principal reason is that nobody was asking them to vote, continued by the idea of that are not it sufficiently ready to understand the topics.

But that is changing. Between 2000 and 2004 the participation of the Latin youth in the urns increased 13 per cent and between 2004 and 2006 the increase was 8 per cent. This year the expectations are higher. 85 per cent of the interrogated persons for “Latin Vote” believe that this is the most important election in the history. Many Latin young people plays an essential role in the family helping his parents in everything, from the decision making up to the explanation of complicated procedures and translation from English. "They vote because they feel in proper meat the aftereffects of the negative tone in the migratory debate. They are proud of his Latin heredity, but also proud to be Americans and the best way of demonstrating it is going to the urns".
What motivates Daniel Pichardo is the idea of being a part of the history and his desire to fulfill his civic responsibility. "When I was in the university I traveled to Albany (New York) to lobby for more financial aid for the students and the legislators asked us if we vote", he remembers. Most of the students who could have voted had not done it and it was said to them that they were not having the right to demand if they were not taking part in the political process.

Of five brothers Pichardo eligible to vote, four glide to do it but the youngest is still not sure. "The disappointed está because Hillary Clinton was not the nominated one", affirmed his older brother. Also, it is confused with the election system across the Electoral School and feels that his vote will not count. "I will have to drag it to the urns, it does not import for me for whom I voted, but he has to vote", he mentions joking.

“ Latin vote” will not go that far like Daniel, the organization will not drag anybody to the urns, but it is doing all the possible to achieve that the Latin young people votes on November 4. They will use the hardware that the same young people uses to communicate between them: the radial waves, the cyberspace in places like MySpace, messages of text across the cell phone and a coalition of 120 blogs of Latin young people, with the intention which they realize what is in game for them in this election.

The projections indicate that for the year 2040 the Latin Americans will be 25 per cent of the population of the United States. The young Latin today voters will be the leaders of the tomorrow. On November 4 the young people will be voting not only for his families, he will be voting for his future.

(c) 2008 by Maria Helen Salinas.