It was clear to many of us that the 2018 election cycle was going to be one of the most consequential in a generation. Given the challenges to everything from health care to immigration to environmental regulation and gun control, the stakes couldn’t have been higher in terms of getting our community registered and out to vote.
Of course, this work is never easy. There are nearly 30 million eligible Latino voters in the United States, yet many reside in communities that have been disenfranchised by poverty, lack of meaningful engagement from politicians and political parties, voter suppression efforts and the historical underfunding of Latino organizations to carry out long-term voter empowerment efforts.
That’s why Hispanic Federation spent unprecedented time and resources making sure that Latino were heard at the ballot box this past November. Working in states such as Florida, Georgia, and New York, to name just a few, Hispanic Federation and its partner organizations directly engaged and mobilized one million Latinos to register and vote in the midterm elections. Our staff and volunteer teams went door-to-door in Florida counties, phone-banked voters in Georgia, and conducted voter registration drives in New York. The end result of these efforts? A historic Latino turnout in the Midterm Elections.
In addition to our work mobilizing Latino voters for the Midterm Elections, we spent much of 2018 increasing the Latino footprint on the nation’s civic space. We were proud that some 37,000 people joined our coalitions, marches, days of action and policy conferences to drive a Latino agenda.
With the 2020 election cycle now underway, Hispanic Federation will redouble its efforts to increase Latino awareness of critical issues facing the community and mobilize eligible Latinos to register to vote and head to the polls.
