Civil rights groups warn that as many as 10 million Latinos may be deterred from casting ballots because of changes to voting laws.

In a report to be released Monday, the group Advancement Project cites the potential impact of newly restrictive photo identification laws, proof-of-citizenship requirements and late efforts in a few states to remove noncitizens from the voter rolls.

"It has the impact of scaring people and reminding them of (immigration) raids and other kinds of law enforcement that have been targeted toward these communities," said Penda Hair, co-director of the Advancement Project, part of a coalition of liberal groups that oppose the new voting laws.

Proponents of the efforts to tighten voting laws say they want to root out voter fraud and are not targeting particular demographic groups.


Several of the states with more restrictive laws and procedures, such as Colorado, have large Latino populations. As the deadline to register voters approaches in many states, the Advancement Project's report warns that the new rules work against efforts to register Latinos, the nation's fastest-growing demographic.

Both President Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney are working hard to appeal to Latinos, who could be key to winning important swing states if they vote in large numbers.

Advocacy groups have been trying for several years to increase the number of Latinos who vote. In 2010, 6.3 million Latinos who were eligible to vote reported that they were unregistered, according to census figures cited by the report.


Pennsylvania's governor signed a voter ID bill in March that is still being litigated, with opponents presenting studies showing that blacks, Hispanics and others in urban areas are less likely to have the required ID.

In addition, 16 states - including Colorado, Florida and New Mexico - have attempted to "purge" noncitizens from registration lists. The Advancement Project cited examples of purges incorrectly flagging the names of naturalized citizens, putting them at risk for having their voter registration invalidated.

Florida halted an effort to remove noncitizens from lists when it became known that the database used by the state to check citizenship was out of date.