Arizona’s vulnerable populations are struggling on a daily basis but usually do so in silence, undetected by traditional radar and rankings, often unaware themselves of their high risk for being pushed or pulled into full crisis. Ineligible for financial assistance under strict eligibility guidelines, they don’t qualify as poor because vulnerable populations are not yet in full crisis. To be clear, this report is not about the “poor,” at least not in the limited sense of the word. It is about our underemployed wage earners, our single-parent households, our deployed or returning military members, our under-educated and unskilled workforce, our debt-ridden neighbors, our uninsured friends, our family members with no savings for an emergency, much less retirement.

This follow-up to the 2001 landmark report, "Five Shoes Waiting to Drop on Arizona's Future," focuses on the projected future of the state if Arizona fails to address its Latino educational attainment gap. The publication is more of an economic impact statement than an education report, with indicators pointing out consequences and contributions, depending on action or inaction in closing the gap of Arizona's future workforce.

While many potential voters care deeply about local and state issues, 45 percent of Arizona citizens of voting-age population did not vote in the last election, according to a report by Morrison Institute for Public Policy. To address this voter crisis, Arizona Clean Elections commissioned this report, the first in a series, to identify the reasons why only a little more than half of eligible voters actually are casting ballots in Arizona, as well as a first-of-its-kind knowledge bank of information on Arizona government to ensure that voters can vote in an informed manner.