LV No. 2 in Hispanic registration

By Timothy Pratt

Monday, Nov. 4, 2002 | 10:56 a.m.

The Las Vegas metropolitan area ranked second among 24 areas in registering Hispanic voters in eight states, according to a San Antonio-based nonprofit's report.

The nonpartisan group, called the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, said 2,986 new Hispanic voters were registered in the Las Vegas metropolitan area from August to the voter registration deadline of Oct. 5 -- second only to the Miami area, which registered 3,259 voters.

The Las Vegas Valley beat Los Angeles, Phoenix, Tucson and Denver, a sign of the growing Hispanic community here.

"Nevada was not considered one of the Latino players in the past," Antonio Gonzalez, president of the organization, said. "But now it is.

"What we have seen in the last couple of years is a good level of energy in the Latino community here, which is culminating this year with the highly visible candidacy of Dario Herrera," referring to the congressional candidate.

The group has been registering Hispanics throughout the Southwest and in the Miami area since 1974, but has been in the Las Vegas Valley only in the past decade or so.

Andres Ramirez, a local volunteer in the nonprofit's effort, said area Hispanics were key to this year's effort.

"There was a strong will among local leaders in the Latino community to disprove the perception after the primaries that Hispanic voters don't participate in elections," he said.

Ramirez, who spoke from an early voting booth at a Las Vegas Albertson's supermarket on Friday, said a separate effort continues locally to get registered Hispanic voters out to the polls.

He said the project, driven by 300 volunteers, included knocking on 23,000 doors and making 20,000 calls to rural areas.