Latino vote is a powerhouse in this election

Latinos are the second-largest voting bloc in the nation, with more than 36 million eligible to vote and 17.5 million already expected to turn out for the presidential election.

photo credit: LPETTET, Getty

"One thing is extremely clear," said AFT Executive Vice President Evelyn DeJesus as she introduced the webinar "Defending Our Democracy: The Crucial Role of the Latino Vote in the 2024 Election," sponsored by the Albert Shanker Institute and the AFT. "Our communities will make the difference in this election."

"We Latinos have the power in our hands to strengthen [our] freedoms or to watch them trampled and disrespected. All we have to do is get our people to the voting booth."

Getting out the vote

One way to get people to the polls is simply to invite them. Like so many engaged citizens and voting advocates, Clarissa Martinez De Castro, vice president of the Latino Vote Initiative at UnidosUS, has been knocking on doors doing exactly that. "So many Latinos say, 'Nobody has ever talked to me about registering to vote or invited me into the process,'" she said. "That is a small gesture, but it matters so much."

She pointed out that Latinos are geographically concentrated in states rich in electoral votes and in battleground states-or both. And in 2020, Latinos cast ballots in numbers greater than the margin of victory. But voters across all the states are crucial. "Given the razor-thin margins, they are going to play a decisive role no matter what."

Martinez De Castro also noted that a large portion of Latino voters are young and voting for the first time. "One in five Latinos who are expected to cast a ballot in 2024 are going to be doing so for the first time in a presidential election," she said. "Every day, every hour some Latino turns 18," confirmed Camille Rivera, senior partnerships advisor at Voto Latino. Couple that fact with another-that 80 percent of Latinos vote once they are registered-and it's clear just how crucial voter registration has become.

"The young electorate remains an untapped electorate in American politics," said Sonja Diaz, co-founder of Latina Futures 2050 Lab. They are passionate about the issues that directly affect them: climate change, global warming and gun violence prevention among them. Rivera added student debt, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and Palestine to the list. "Young people have a very direct lived experience and are also mobilizing and enthusiastic around action," said Diaz. Yet campaigns-which have finite resources-often target resources toward "a careful parameter of likely voters": older white voters.

Meeting voters where they are

Of course it's crucial to reach out to young voters-but how? Many young voters congregate on social media to share messaging, said Rivera. Whether it's a teacher who just came home from work, or someone doing their makeup who wants to talk about politics, just "regular folks" on "raw camera" are becoming micro-influencers.

Campus organizing is done on social media now too, and it allows young people to share the stories that mean the most to them. One recalled crossing the Rio Grande and hiding from "la migra"-U.S. immigration authorities. Immigration policy would be a huge issue for her. Another, who identified as LGBTQ, described their fear around this election as they wondered what might happen to them should Trump be elected. Such videos draw immense attention and engagement, said Rivera.

As some Latinos are still registering to vote, others are already speaking out. Earlier this month a collective of 14 Latino organizations wrote a letter to the Democratic National Committee and the Republic National Committee calling for more engagement with Latino voters. "I am not prepared to write off Latino voters," said Martinez De Castro. Including them means increasing the ranks of people who believe in affordable housing and wages that can support a family, among other important issues. "That's what gives me hope."

"Let's ensure that our voices continue to be heard loud and clear in this election," said the AFT's DeJesus. "Because when we vote, we create a better future for ourselves, our families and our nación."

[Virginia Myers]

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