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'Summit' Set On Latino Voting

By Courant Staff Report

September 18, 2007

In an effort to increase voter turnout among Connecticut's Latino populations, Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz and Latino and Puerto Rican Affairs Commission Executive Director Fernando Betancourt will host a Latino Voting Summit this week in New Haven.

The summit, titled "Latino Votes Count," will take place Sept. 22 from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Michael J. Adanti Student Center on the campus of Southern Connecticut State University.

According to the secretary of the state's office, a recent study showed that Latinos constitute about 7.7 percent of eligible voters in Connecticut - the highest proportion in any New England state - but only 4 percent of Connecticut voters who cast ballots in the 2004 presidential race were Latino.

The summit will feature panel discussions on topics such as voter outreach, education strategies, reaching young voters, civics education and leadership development in the Latino community. It will also include discussions on "get-out-the-vote" best practices from Dr. José E. Cruz, the State University of New York at Albany; Luis Cabán, Southside Institutions Neighborhood Alliance in Hartford; and keynote speaker Dr. Juan Andrade Jr., president and executive director of the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute.