Ga. Sees Leap In Asian-American, Latino Voter Registrations

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Leading up to November’s presidential election, Georgia has seen a rise in the number of Asian-Americans and Latinos who’ve registered to vote. But, according to at least one expert, that kind of increase isn’t likely to affect the election. 

According to Secretary of State Brian Kemp’s office, the number of registered Latino voters jumped by about 20 percent in recent months; Asian Americans grew by 16 percent. However, the two voting blocs combined are still less than 5 percent of the state’s electorate.

“If they all showed up to vote, it probably wouldn’t affect the election outcome,” University of Georgia political science professor Tre Hood said.  

Hood studies demographic voting trends. He said the increase in registered voters could be the result of a growing population.  

“It’s not surprising that there are more Hispanics registering to vote,” he said. “We have an ever-increasing number of Hispanic citizens as a base in Georgia. Now, as to the motivations, I’m not sure at this point.”

Some election watchers have speculated that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s rhetoric toward some minority groups could have spurred the uptick in voter registrations.

However, there have been strong voter registration efforts in both communities in recent months in metro Atlanta.

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