Getting Out the Latino Vote

The 24 million or so Latino Americans eligible to vote this fall represent the sleeping giant in American politics, and Eva Longoria and Wilmer Valderrama, who've been friends since they were penniless actors, are doing their best to awaken it and make it roar. Only half of Latinos voted in the 2008 election, and few in the youth demographic. So in 2004, Valderrama co-founded the nonpartisan Voto Latino with Rosario Dawson to bring more Latinos into the process. "About 50,000 Latinos turn 18 each month," says Valderrama, a regular on last season's NBC series Awake. "We're trying to make them understand that in numbers, they're going to get something done. They don't realize government is almost begging for this feedback."