US Parties Compete to Attract Immigrant Voters

 

Mike O'Sullivan

After the U.S. presidential primary season winds down, both parties will turn their attention to the general election in November, when a Democratic candidate will face President Bush, a Republican.
California, with 35 million people, is the most populous² U.S. state. It is one-third Hispanic and more than 10 percent Asian-American. Combined with other minority groups, they form a majority.
One-quarter of Californians are first-generation immigrants, and many become naturalized U.S. citizens. After meeting residence requirements, they go through an interview, answering questions about U.S. government and history, then take part in a naturalization ceremony.
At a recent ceremony at the Los Angeles county fairgrounds, 3,000 immigrants were sworn in as citizens.
Newly naturalized citizen Mona Boutros comes from Egypt and has been in the United States for seven years.
Ms. Boutros asked for a voter registration³ form at the ceremony, but said she hasn't yet decided⁴ which party or candidates to support.
"Almost, but I'm just reviewing all the issues that are going around, and I don't want to make the decision until I'm fully⁵, completely convinced that this is what I want to register to vote for," she said.
Outside, members of political parties worked to recruit new voters.
"Welcome to register with the Republican Party," said a recruiter.
A Chinese-American man, speaking English and Mandarin⁶, urges people to register Republican. Volunteers explain that Republicans believe in keeping taxes low and government small and efficient.
Nearby, a Spanish-speaking volunteer helps those who want to register as Democrats⁷.
New voters can register with a party affiliation⁸, or declare themselves independent voters. Whatever they choose, they are free to vote for any candidate or party in the general election.
Some, like Mona Boutros, are weighing the issues: the economy, taxes, and terrorism, for example. Mexican-born Manuel Irigoyen has already decided. He is registering as a Democrat¹.
"Because I want to vote against Bush," he explained. "Yes. No more wars."
Blanca Figueroa, the mayor of the small industrial city of South El Monte in eastern Los Angeles county, is a Democrat but holds a nonpartisan office. A Mexican American, she was born and raised in this town of 20,000, whose population is mostly Hispanic, with minorities of Chinese and Vietnamese Americans. She says the concerns of her residents are mostly economic.
"We have a lot of jobs that are leaving California, going to Canada, to Mexico, and we need those jobs," she said. "We need those tax dollars. I need that for my social services in my city. I need that for our Sheriff's department and to get protection we need in our city."
Local businessman John Lawrence manufactures equipment that makes tortillas, pita, and other types of flat bread for the ethnic⁹ market and for export. He employs more than 200 workers.
He says politicians sometimes visit his plant, and they get a lot of comments from the workers.
"They do come by," he said. "You know, we're vocal¹⁰. And I'd like them to do something about immigration."
Mr. Lawrence draws on a labor¹¹ pool of immigrants, and nearly all of his employees are Hispanic. He would like to see provisions for illegal immigrants who working in the country to have access to citizenship¹². He says the temporary worker program that President Bush is proposing doesn't go far enough, and he doesn't think the Democrats are addressing the issue either.
Antonio Villaraigosa, a Democratic council member in Los Angeles and the former speaker of the California assembly, says the concerns of immigrants are setting the agenda in cities like Los Angeles. He said both parties are wise to target potential ethnic voters, particularly Hispanics.
"We're the fastest growing demographic group in the nation," said Mr. Villaraigosa. "We're also that group that's very much moving toward citizenship and voting."
He said the Hispanic vote is important in battleground states like Florida, which swung the election in favor of President Bush four years ago.
California Secretary of State Kevin Shelley, the state's top election official, says participation¹³ rates in elections are declining. About half of the voting-age population in the United States typically does not vote in a presidential election.
"I think it's a challenge, not only for myself as California's chief election office, but for all secretaries of state throughout the country to redouble our efforts to get people excited about the process, whether it be to improve technology, to provide reasons to get people to register," he said. "It's of crucial importance."
The major political parties are trying to get that message out.

注释：
election [i5lekF(E)n] n. 选举
democratic [7demE5krAtik] adj. 民主党的
candidate [5kAndidit] n. 候选人
republican [ri5pQblikEn] n. 共和党人
Hispanic [his5pAnik] n. 具有拉丁美洲或西班牙血统的美国公民或居民
minority [mai5nCriti] adj. 少数的
immigrant [5imi^rEnt] n. 移民
naturalize [5nAtFErElaiz] v. 使入国籍
fairground [5feE^raund] n. 举行赛会的场所
registration [7redVis5treiFEn] n. 注册，登记
convinced [kEn5vinst] adj. 确信的，深信的
volunteer [vRlEn5tIE(r)] n. 志愿者
efficient [i5fiFEnt] n. 有效率的
nonpartisan [nuNpB:ti5zAn] adj. 无党无派的
tortilla [tC:5tilE] n. 玉米粉圆饼
pita [5pi:tE] n.（希腊和中东地区的）皮塔饼
ethnic [5eWnik] adj. 种族的
vocal [5vEukl] n. 音乐
provision [prE5viVEn] n. [pl.] 供应品（特指粮食与副食品）
agenda [E5dVendE] n. 议程
declining [di:5kliN] vi. 下倾，下降,
crucial [5kru:FiEl] adj. 至关紧要的

1 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

2 populous   

adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的

参考例句：

• London is the most populous area of Britain.伦敦是英国人口最稠密的地区。
• China is the most populous developing country in the world.中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。

3 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

6 Mandarin   

n.中国官话，国语，满清官吏；adj.华丽辞藻的

参考例句：

• Just over one billion people speak Mandarin as their native tongue.大约有十亿以上的人口以华语为母语。
• Mandarin will be the new official language of the European Union.普通话会变成欧盟新的官方语言。

7 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 affiliation   

n.联系，联合

参考例句：

• There is no affiliation between our organization and theirs,even though our names are similar.尽管两个组织的名称相似，但我们之间并没有关系。
• The kidnappers had no affiliation with any militant group.这些绑架者与任何军事组织都没有紧密联系。

9 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

10 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

11 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

12 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

13 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。