Jorge Ramos, one of Univision network's biggest stars, devoted his Sunday news program to the rather mundane topic of how to cast a ballot.
Mr. Ramos addressed such basic questions as "What if your name doesn't appear on the list?" while viewers of the Spanish-language network were reminded to call a bilingual toll-free hotline with questions or concerns about the voting process. His involvement reflects the importance Univision assigns to increasing the electoral clout of its Hispanic audience.
If the path to the White House this election passes through the Hispanic community, then it also passes through Univision. The dominant Spanish-language broadcaster is a powerful influence on its audience -- and in this election cycle, it has been engaged in an aggressive two-year campaign to turn the fast-growing Hispanic constituency into a potent voting bloc.
The network -- whose ratings during prime time often surpass those of ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC -- has used public-service announcements as well as local and national news broadcasts to motivate Latinos to become politically engaged. With other Latino media and grassroots groups, Univision began by spurring more than a million eligible legal U.S. residents to apply for U.S. citizenship; it then goaded them to register to vote.
Now, less than two weeks before the election, it is guiding them right to the voting booth.
"You will not find this on any other network," said Mr. Ramos last week after recording "Al Punto" (To the Point).
Spanish-language television is often associated with spicy soap operas, or telenovelas, and abundant soccer coverage. But campaigns are awakening to the audience's political clout. Sen. Barack Obama's campaign is slated to air a 30-minute infomercial on national networks Wednesday evening.
The network, part of Univision Communications Inc., is likely to attract record political ad money, possibly doubling the $16.2 million in campaign dollars it took in during the 2004 presidential contest. However, that would still be a tiny fraction of the record $2 billion the candidates are expected to spend this season on TV ads.
Regardless, the network's audience has responded strongly to the civics lessons. "My mother became a citizen because of Univision; she's going to vote because of Univision's influence," said Jorge Aceituna, the son of a Mexican immigrant, as he poured fruit, ice and yogurt into a blender at a juice store in Los Angeles last weekend.
Recent polls show Republican nominee John McCain behind Mr. Obama, the Democratic nominee, among Hispanics nationwide. A high Hispanic turnout could determine the outcome in key states. Nearly 90% of all Latino registered voters said they are certain to cast ballots in the presidential vote in a survey released last week by the NALEO Educational Fund, a nonpartisan group that teamed up with Univision and other Spanish-language media for the mobilization drive dubbed "Ya Es Hora, Ve Y Vota" (It's Time, Go Vote).
On the heels of the outreach effort, Hispanic voter registration has reached about 12 million, up from nine million in 2004. In particular, Latinos are poised to shape the result in four battleground states where they are concentrated and the total number of registered Hispanics has soared since 2004: by 144% in Nevada, 35% in Colorado, 34% in Florida and 30% in New Mexico.
A yet-to-be-released poll prepared by Bendixen & Associates for Democracia USA, a nonpartisan voter-engagement group, found that network-news anchorman Mr. Ramos is the most influential figure among both English-dominant and Spanish-dominant Hispanic voters; fellow anchorwoman María Elena Salinas ranked eighth in the survey. "Univision is more influential than I even thought it was," says Jorge Mursuli, president of Democracia USA. "And most Americans don't even know who Jorge Ramos is."
Since last year, Ms. Salinas has starred in a series of public-service announcements designed to energize Univision viewers eligible to vote. In one spot she declares that "united we [Hispanics] are a force politicians cannot ignore. All the power we have amounts to nothing if we don't vote..."
In an interview, Ms. Salinas said "the political empowerment of the Hispanic community is one of the most important things that I can contribute as a Spanish-language journalist."
Univision local stations, from Miami to Los Angeles, are also weaving a get-out-the-vote message into election coverage. "We want to thank those of you who responded to our call to become a U.S. citizen and register to vote," said Los Angeles reporter and anchor Raúl Peimbert on the air recently.
Both parties have reason to court the network and its viewers. Overall, the nation's Latino population has grown nearly 30%, from about 35 million in 2000 to 45 million in 2007. The non-Hispanic U.S. population grew 4% over the same period. The growth so far this century is just a precursor to the coming explosion, demographers say. And while some 12 million Hispanic immigrants are here illegally, their U.S-born children will reach voting age in the next few years.
Univision's Democratic presidential primary debate drew more viewers, 4.6 million, than the average 4.3 million who tuned into English-language debates on the so-called Big Four networks. The median age of the viewer of the Univision debate was 36 compared with 61 for the English-language networks, according to Nielsen NTI Fast National Ratings.
"Without Univision and the Hispanic vote, you can't win this election," says Federico Subervi, author of "The Mass Media and Latino Politics," and professor of mass communications at Texas State University-San Marcos.
Mr. Ramos remembers 1996, when Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole declined several requests for interviews from Univision. In 2004, President George W. Bush talked directly to the Hispanic electorate and won 40% of the vote. Sen. McCain's first interview after officially accepting the Republican Party nomination was with Univision's Mr. Ramos.
"This year the change has been dramatic," says Mr. Ramos, whose Sunday show featured an interview with Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. "For the first time, the campaigns are calling us."
