Thousands of Latinos took to Utah's streets to protest stringent immigration legislation pending in Congress last spring. But that new activism didn't necessarily translate into voting on Election Day, according to a Brigham Young University exit poll.

Census estimates show that Hispanics comprise nearly 11 percent of the state's population, but the BYU exit poll shows they accounted for only about 2.8 percent of those who voted on Nov. 7.

That number is up just slightly from 2.4 percent in the 2002 interim election. It's down from the 2004 presidential election, when an estimated 3 percent of those who cast ballots in Utah were Hispanic.

Much of Utah's Hispanic population arrived in the state since 1990, and learning the importance of voting and getting into the habit don't happen immediately, said Kelly Patterson, director of BYU's Center for the Study of Election and Democracy.

"It takes time for groups to become politically engaged and then for that engagement to work its way down among all the members as a long-term habit," Patterson said. "It's a dynamic process."

Another factor could be the age and citizenship status of the Hispanic population. The state's Hispanic population is younger than the general population, and many of the immigrants aren't citizens. Hispanics comprise only about 5.5 percent of the state's voting-age citizen population, according to the 2005 American Community Survey.

Younger populations, in general, are less likely to vote, Patterson said.

"It's less convenient to vote because you're moving around and not as rooted in a community," he said. "You're working harder to establish yourself in the economy."

Frank Cordova, who registers voters for Southwest Voter Registration, said he believes the BYU exit poll was under-counting Latinos.

However, he acknowledged it can sometimes be difficult to motivate people to register to vote, and populations that tend to be highly mobile are an added challenge.

"Probably 40 percent of the people we register are people we've re-registered because they moved," Cordova said.

In Utah, Hispanics are more likely to vote Democratic than the general population, the majority of which votes Republican. In the BYU exit poll, 49 percent of Hispanics identified themselves as Democrats and 39 percent as Republican. Some 55 percent voted for Democrat Pete Ashdown, who lost his bid to replace Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch.

Cordova believes it's only a matter of time until Hispanics start influencing Utah's elections.

"They're going to become a political force eventually," Cordova said. "It might take a few years. They are learning a lot of things and not being so complacent."

Patterson said he also sees the potential for the Hispanic vote to be influential, as were youths who mobilized in large numbers in the late '60s and early '70s and moved the political agenda toward civil rights and ending the Vietnam War.

"The biggest changes in American politics generally occur when groups who have previously not been active are mobilized in large numbers," he said.

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E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com