Thaindian News

Washington, Sep 13 (IANS) Around 12 million Latinos - people with Latin American ancestry - are expected to exercise their legal right to vote in the Nov 6 US presidential elections, the Prensa Latina news agency reported.

According to the La Raza National Council (NCLR) of the US, there are around 21 million Latinos in the US. There has been an increase of two million Latino voters since the 2008 polls.

NCLR, the largest Hispanic organisation in the US, launched a campaign “Mobilized to Vote (M2V)” in several states to promote Latino participation in the elections.

It also aimed at drawing attention on key issues like housing, work and health, among others.

The M2V campaign attracted probable voters in California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas and Nevada.

Clarissa Martinez de Castro, the group’s Civic Involvement and Immigration Director, said the Latino vote has the power to affect national politics, and called on the community to be informed and cast their vote on election day.

A latest report says 70 percent Latinos support Obama’s re-election while 22 percent wish to vote for Republican Mitt Romney.

Prensa Latina said the Obama administration has deported near 1.2 million migrants, mostly Latinos, over the past three years.

Over 50 million Latinos make up the largest such community after Mexico, and stands for 16 percent of the US population.