A push for new Latino voters in Florida

MIAMI BEACH, Florida (CNN) -- A recent swearing-in ceremony for new citizens in Miami Beach, Florida, was more than a cause for celebration.

It was an opportunity to get out the vote.

On a street corner near the mass swearing-in were booths promoting the Democratic and Republican candidates for president staffed by a small army of their supporters.

Their target was the more than 5,000 new voters who would be sworn in that day. Most of the new citizens are Hispanic, a hotly contested group in an important battleground state.

As people poured into the citizenship ceremony, volunteers from both parties congratulated them and then gave them voter registration forms. The volunteers stressed that the prospective first-time voters should not sign the forms -- they would have to wait another hour or so until they had taken the oath of citizenship to do that.

One of the people filling out forms was Leonor Gonzalez. Nine years after arriving from Cuba, Gonzalez became a U.S. citizen because, she said, she wanted to be able to vote in the presidential election.

"I'm feeling so good because finally I'm going to become a citizen. An American citizen," Gonzalez said.

Like many other Americans, her first concern and requirement for any candidate for president is improving the economy.

Gonzalez said she feels Sen. Barack Obama is the better candidate because "he has more experience with the economy."

She also supports Obama's policy on Cuba. Obama has said he would allow Cuban-Americans to return with greater frequency to visit their families.

Gonzalez represents a changing view in the Cuban-American community, which has historically voted Republican.

"The younger Cubans, they're saying, 'Look, you know, enough with the rhetoric of Cuba. [The Republicans] haven't liberated Cuba,' " said Florida Democratic congressional candidate Raul Martinez as he shook hands and posed for pictures with people arriving for the ceremony.

Nearly three times as many Latinos in Florida registered as Democrats than as Republicans between January and May, according to the state Democratic Party.

The Florida Republican Party says it doesn't have registration numbers.

According the the Florida Department of State, the number of registered Democrats increased by about 130,000 while registered Republicans went up by 53,000, from last December to April.

The gains for the first time have given Democrats a slight lead over Republicans with Latino voters, Democrats say.

As she encouraged new citizens to vote and passed out registration forms, Carla Rivera, a supporter of Republican Sen. John McCain, said the GOP isn't ceding any ground.

"We are out there, we are trying to reach out to the community," Rivera said. "Sen. McCain does what he does best. He talks directly to the people, explains how he's there to help. He's very interested in helping the Hispanic community."

McCain this week visited Colombia and Mexico to discuss U.S. partnerships and free trade agreements in Latin America.

Roberto Falcon is one Hispanic voter who gives the Republicans hope. Even though Falcon registered as an independent, he said he was leaning toward voting for McCain.

"Experience," was the reason Falcon gave when asked why.

Inside the swearing-in ceremony, thousands waited a few more hours for a dream that had been years in coming. With hands placed over their hearts, the new citizens cheered as the names of the countries of origin, from Argentina to Yugoslavia, were called out.

Whether they will be Democrats or Republicans, the new citizens were for the moment very happy to finally be Americans.

By Patrick Oppmann and Susan Candiotti