Latino voters respond more to English ads

NEW YORK, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- English-language print ads have a greater impact in mobilizing Latino voters than Spanish-language print ads, U.S. researchers found.

The study, published in American Political Research, examined the effects of direct mail pieces on Latino voters. The mailer, written in either English or Spanish, was sent to two separate groups, while a third that received no mailing was used as a control group.

The experiment was conducted during a New York City Council election in 2009.

The study found that while both English and Spanish language materials increased voter turnout among Latinos -- whose participation in elections generally lags behind the general population -- the English language materials not only had a greater impact, but also drew in a broader voter demographic.

"English-language appeals were effective across the board for Latinos in our sample," wrote study authors Marisa Abrajano and Costas Panagopoulos, "whereas Spanish-language outreach was only effective among low-propensity voters and participants whose primary language was Spanish."