Hispanic voters may swing presidential election

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WASHINGTON, June 22 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama is leading among registered Latino voters in key swing states where Latino populations are on the rise, a poll shows.

A poll of 2,000 Latino voters by Latino Decisions and pro-immigration reform advocacy group America's Voice found Obama is leading likely Republican nominee Mitt Romney 63 percent to 27 percent among Latinos in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Nevada and Virginia, ABC News reported.

Analysts have said Romney would need to win over 40 percent of the Latino vote to win the presidency.

The poll was conducted June 17 and 21 and had a margin of error of 2.2 percentage points.

Meanwhile, as the Supreme Court is expected to rule soon on the Arizona law that requires law enforcement officers to check the immigration status of people they stop, immigration is expected to be a major campaign topic, The Hill reported Friday.

"What I think we should focus on is the growing number of Hispanic voters in key states like Florida, Virginia, Iowa, North Carolina and others that are much more open-minded, that do not have a long-standing -- via geographic -- allegiance to one political party or ideology," Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said Thursday, adding he believes Democrats will win a significant majority of Hispanic votes this fall.

"There is a historical reality that Democrats are in the short term going to do much better among Hispanics," he said.

That is not stopping Romney from appealing to Latino voters, however, as he recently softened his stance on immigration and pledged to give green cards to immigrants who earn degrees at U.S. universities.