Los Democratas Soccer Team

The Nevada Democratic Party figured out how best to capture the Latino vote–organize a soccer team. This blue-jerseyed team was named “Los Democratas” and joined the Las Vegas Valley amateur soccer league in August 2007 well before the January 19th caucus primary. Democratic Party bilingual staffers worked the sidelines at every game talking with fans, educating them about the cuacus process,  and registering them to vote. This was an innovative idea. But Democratic Party only registered around 100 new voters, since a majority of fans were permanent residents (40%) or undocumented immigrants (30%). Another factor was the team lost early in the November playoffs. According to the 2000 census Latinos comprised nearly 20% of Nevada’s population and by 2005 has reached almost 40%, so the Nevada Latino vote will certainly matter in the 2008 presidential election. Even though many will not have a say in the upcoming 2008 election the staffers educated many permanent residents on how to become citizens and how to participate in the political process.