Interactive Map: The Latino Vote in 2008

The Hispanic population in the United States is growing rapidly, putting it in a position to play a critical role in the November elections. And politicians would do well to take notice.

Despite this rise in voting power, Latinos are still being left behind.

Nation-wide, 15.3 million Hispanics were uninsured in 2006. That's 34.1 percent of the Hispanic population compared to only 10.8 percent of non-Hispanic whites and 20.5 percent of Blacks. What's more, 3.4 Million of these Latinos are children.

This December the unemployment rate for Latinos hit the highest rate in more than two years: 6.3 percent. And as of 2006, 9.2 million Hispanics were living in poverty. This represents 20.6 percent of the Latino population—far higher than the rate for whites (8.2 percent).