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Election Day is Nov. 8. Early voting begins Oct. 24 and runs until Nov. 4.

The number of immigrant voters is growing — and that means a more diverse electorate in Texas

 A sign with the message "Vote Here Today" is posted near the entrance to the Denton Civic Center parking lot.
Jacob Wells
/
KERA News
A sign with the message "Vote Here Today" is posted near the entrance to the Denton Civic Center parking lot.

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The makeup of Texas voters is much more diverse today than during the 2016 elections. And some of that growth is the result of a nearly two percentage point increase in the number of eligible immigrant voters.

That’s according to an analysis of data from the Current Population Survey by the American Immigration Council, a nonpartisan research and advocacy group. Its report finds that eligible immigrant voters account for 11 percent of the electorate.

Jeremy Robbins, the group’s executive director, said the rapid growth of different demographic groups will have an impact at the ballot box and on both major political parties.

“The population increasingly is immigrant voters. It’s Hispanic voters…black voters…Asian-American voters,” Robbins said. “All of those groups are increasing dramatically in their share of the vote.”

In Texas, the share of eligible Asian immigrant voters increased by 1.2 percentage points, which means they now account for 4.7 percent of the electorate.

Robbins said politicians need to pay more attention to this demographic group, which historically has been ignored. Now though, he said, the public is seeing more ads in different languages and more outreach to Asian immigrants in large metro areas.

“Like all voting blocs, the Asian American voting block is incredibly heterogeneous,” he said. “You have really conservative pockets. You have very progressive pockets. But there are some real concerns that accrue to Asian-American voters.

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Got a tip? Email Stella M. Chávez at schavez@kera.org. You can follow Stella on Twitter @stellamchavez.

Copyright 2022 KERA. To see more, visit KERA.

Stella M. Chávez is KERA’s immigration/demographics reporter.
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