An energizing presidential race, tough economic times and increased civic involvement could make this election year the best opportunity to bring Idaho Latinos to the polls, observers say.

The Gem State's Hispanic population is growing fast, and advocates are working hard to translate that growth into a greater voice at the polls. More than 34,000 Hispanic Idahoans are eligible to vote but haven't registered, and several groups and advocates are hoping to whittle that down and get more Hispanics to the polls.

"We have a lot of U.S. citizens who've never voted before, but they're interested in doing so this year," said Maria Mabbutt, former head of Idaho Latino Vote.

"I'm getting several calls a day. I think people are wanting change. People are hopeful, and times are hard. The hard times sometimes wake some of us up."

Mabbutt is an avid Democrat and former party chairwoman in heavily Republican Canyon County, but she and others say increased participation by Hispanic citizens helps both parties.

Democrats' emphasis on social justice and the working class attracts many, she said, but the GOP's stance on abortion and similar issues finds favor with many in the predominantly Catholic Latino populace.

"People tend to make the assumption that the Latino population is monolithic and tends to vote toward the left, but there's a good portion who are socially conservative," said Don Pena, chairman of the Idaho Hispanic Caucus Institute for Research and Education.

Bustos Media marketing consultant Clinton Fitch, who has been trying to sell political ads for Bustos' two Spanish-language radio stations in Nampa, thinks that assumption may be affecting his efforts.

He said Democratic candidates have been far more receptive than Republicans, which he sees as a missed opportunity for the GOP.

"The Hispanic community is all about family, they're all about religion. Those are strong areas for Republicans," said Fitch, who so far has sold ads to only one candidate, Democratic U.S. Senate hopeful Larry LaRocco.

Nationally, most Hispanic voters favor Democrats.

Exit polling indicated that 69 percent of U.S. Hispanic voters cast their ballots for Democrats in 2006, up from 58 percent in 2004, the Pew Hispanic Center reports.

Canyon County leaders of both major parties say they're making no special effort to reach Latinos, but Mabbutt said GOP campaign signs and the candidates they represent are popping up this election season in Canyon County neighborhoods with high Hispanic populations.

"I've lived in Nampa for 23 years, and this is the first time I've seen that," she said.

WHERE WILL LATINO INFLUENCE BE FELT?

More than a quarter of all Idaho Latinos live in Canyon County, where nearly 21 percent of the population - 37,540 people - is Hispanic.

Those numbers could make for a potent political force in state legislative races, Boise State University political science professor Gary Moncrief said.

Seven other Idaho counties have higher percentages of Hispanic residents, but they have much smaller populations, so the influence would be most strongly felt on the local level, in county and city races, he said.

In eastern Idaho's tiny Clark County, population 906, a few hundred Latinos make up 39 percent of the population. Ada County's more than 22,000 Hispanic residents represent about 6 percent of the county's population.

Two Hispanic candidates will be on Canyon and Ada County ballots this November.

Republican Raul Labrador, who spent his childhood in Puerto Rico and now lives in Eagle, is running for a second term in the Idaho House representing District 14.

And the only contested local race in Canyon County, for District 2 county commissioner, features Democrat Estella Zamora, who grew up as a migrant farmworker and now works for the county as interpreter coordinator.

Hispanic voter turnout is less likely to affect national races, at least in Idaho, Moncrief said.

"In the presidential race, the Hispanic vote is only going to be a real factor in a battleground state, and Idaho is not a battleground state," he said.

The focus on states such as Nevada has made it harder for Idaho to get money from national organizations that work to get out the Latino vote, Pena said.

The Hispanic Caucus' nonpartisan Latino Vote project is focusing on Canyon County, he said, but "if we had the dollars, we'd be doing it statewide."

WORKING FOR CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

Idaho Latino Vote has been working to increase the turnout since 2002, registering thousands of new voters, he said. It's working in collaboration with the nonprofit social justice group Idaho Community Action Network to get Hispanic citizens to register and vote.

Desiree Beltran, who leads the get-out-the-vote project for ICAN, said 430 new Hispanic voters in the Treasure Valley have signed up through the project so far, and she expects a total of 500.

"I've met a lot of people who say they will vote for the first time this year," Beltran said. "They believe it's through their vote they're going to see a change. They're excited about change, and people are struggling. Hunger, immigration, education, health care: They care about these issues."

More Latinos voted in 2004 than in 2002, studies show, but that number didn't increase as quickly as the number of eligible Hispanics who haven't registered.

The population has grown quickly in the state - Latino populations in four Idaho counties grew by more than 75 percent between 2000 and 2006, Pena said, and 15 counties, including Canyon and Ada, saw increases of more than 40 percent.

"We're chasing a moving target," Pena said.

But that growth makes efforts to register voters and get them to the polls all the more important, Pena said.

It's not about flexing electoral muscle, he said: It's about community involvement and responsibility.

As Latino residents become more comfortable and confident in their Idaho communities, increased voter turnout and civic engagement are natural outgrowths, Pena said.

The next step, he said, is for more Idaho Latinos to run for office, particularly school boards and city councils where the issues are close to home.

"It's part of our responsibility to be part of an informed and involved electorate," he said. "There's really no excuse for us to not be involved."

"Through our action or our inaction, we decide," Mabbutt said. "And we get exactly what we deserve."

Kristin Rodine: 377-6447