2008 Woodie Awards
Illegal immigration affects the electoral votes
By Daniel Lumetta, The Daily Reveille
Issue date: 9/25/08 Section: Opinion
(UWIRE) - Amid lipstick smears and distortions from both presidential candidates, a forgotten issue that was once the biggest concern of this election cycle has largely faded from public consciousness: illegal immigration.
If John McCain really wants to distance himself from Barack Obama in the polls, it will require yet another Maverick flip-flop. His newfound stance on illegal immigration could help rally the conservative base and have a direct impact on this and future elections.
Aside from the burdens posed by illegal immigrants on crime, detention facilities, job security, taxes, wages, social security, Medicare, Medicaid, violence, terrorism and drug and human trafficking, illegal aliens are slowly eroding the power of American voters.
Though illegal immigrants don't have an effect on the popular vote, they are changing the electoral vote, and this change benefits Obama.
Hispanic voters historically vote Democratic, and as reported by USA Today in July, Hispanics will become decisive swing votes in future elections.
With the Hispanic population set to double to 30 percent by 2042 because of relatively higher birth rates and immigration - and with leaders like Obama and McCain who support amnesty for illegal aliens - this traditionally Democratic-leaning population will likely tip future elections in favor of Democrats.
Indeed, the effects of Hispanic voters on this election are already being felt. A Pew Research Center survey showed 66 percent of Hispanics favored Obama to McCain's 23 percent. USA Today reported the Hispanic vote is now large enough to determine outcomes in key battleground states, like Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and Florida. Familial and cultural ties effectively concentrate legal and illegal immigrants together with ethnically similar foreign-born populations. Though this is not the only factor in the redistribution of seats in the House of Representatives, it is a major contributor. And with 70 percent of the foreign-born population living in just six states, the Center for Immigration Studies expects this rearrangement to continue for decades, resulting in changes to the U.S. House of Representatives and Electoral College. The distribution of seats in the House is referred to as apportionment, which is based on states' total population and includes illegal immigrants. A national census is taken every 10 years to apportion seats in the House, but as CIS reported, the Constitution offers no method for apportionment, nor a method for compiling total population for apportionment. Currently, the resident population includes illegal aliens.
If John McCain really wants to distance himself from Barack Obama in the polls, it will require yet another Maverick flip-flop. His newfound stance on illegal immigration could help rally the conservative base and have a direct impact on this and future elections.
Aside from the burdens posed by illegal immigrants on crime, detention facilities, job security, taxes, wages, social security, Medicare, Medicaid, violence, terrorism and drug and human trafficking, illegal aliens are slowly eroding the power of American voters.
Though illegal immigrants don't have an effect on the popular vote, they are changing the electoral vote, and this change benefits Obama.
Hispanic voters historically vote Democratic, and as reported by USA Today in July, Hispanics will become decisive swing votes in future elections.
With the Hispanic population set to double to 30 percent by 2042 because of relatively higher birth rates and immigration - and with leaders like Obama and McCain who support amnesty for illegal aliens - this traditionally Democratic-leaning population will likely tip future elections in favor of Democrats.
Indeed, the effects of Hispanic voters on this election are already being felt. A Pew Research Center survey showed 66 percent of Hispanics favored Obama to McCain's 23 percent. USA Today reported the Hispanic vote is now large enough to determine outcomes in key battleground states, like Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and Florida. Familial and cultural ties effectively concentrate legal and illegal immigrants together with ethnically similar foreign-born populations. Though this is not the only factor in the redistribution of seats in the House of Representatives, it is a major contributor. And with 70 percent of the foreign-born population living in just six states, the Center for Immigration Studies expects this rearrangement to continue for decades, resulting in changes to the U.S. House of Representatives and Electoral College. The distribution of seats in the House is referred to as apportionment, which is based on states' total population and includes illegal immigrants. A national census is taken every 10 years to apportion seats in the House, but as CIS reported, the Constitution offers no method for apportionment, nor a method for compiling total population for apportionment. Currently, the resident population includes illegal aliens.
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