Political efficacy and electoral participation of Chicago Latinos

Objective. To explore feelings of political efficacy among Chicago Latinos, making intraethnic comparisons within the Chicago Latino community as well as comparisons to blacks and Angles using NES data. Methods. Analysis of my spring 1997 telephone survey of Chicago Latinos about their feelings of political efficacy and their voting behavior in the 1996 general elections. Results. Chicago Latinos report lower feelings of political efficacy on an internal efficacy item and on one of two external efficacy items than do most national groups, but much higher levels of external efficacy on the remaining item. There are also interesting differences in responses among groups within the Chicago Latino community. Also, Chicago Latinos do not exhibit the same link between external efficacy and voting as has been found for Angles. Conclusions. Chicago Latinos feel that their political reality is one of relatively high empowerment, and they tend to view voting as more of a symbolic act than as an instrumental one.