Making the Hispanic vote count may seal victory

[T_i_B]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uselections2004/story/0,13918,1160036,00.html

Francisco, a worker taking his lunch break at a factory in the predominantly Hispanic area of El Monte in Los Angeles, looked down at his feet and mumbled an answer: yes, he had papers, but no, he did not have a green card, the permit conferring a right of permanent residence.

He is not unusual among California's almost 11 million Hispanic population, almost half of whom were born outside the US. Of the eight Hispanic soldiers from California to have died in Iraq while serving with the US army in the last year, seven were not US citizens.

But with 1,151 delegates for the Democratic nomination up for grabs today - 370 of them from California - the Hispanic community is being courted by the politicians. The Hispanic vote is seen as the most dynamic and potentially most volatile in the country.

They are the country's fastest growing and largest minority. There are 37 million Hispanics in the US; 21.5 million are registered to vote, and 6.7 million of those are expected to do so in November's presidential election.