Hispanic voters reflect ahead of presidential election

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Published: May. 5, 2024 at 9:31 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - More than 36 million Hispanic voters are eligible to cast a ballot this November. That’s four million more than in 2020.

“Donald Trump is enemy number one for the Latino community,” Hector Sanchez Barba from Mi Familia Vota said.

His organization is dedicated to making democracy more inclusive for everyone. His organization is teaming up with Unidos US Action Fund, America’s voice, Latino victory project and Voto Latino to educate Hispanic voters this election season. Barba said misinformation and disinformation is crippling Latino communities.

“We are making sure that not only that we are informing but connecting with networks in the nation, especially in Spanish, to make sure this isn’t happening through the data checking and the message is in the right place,” Barba said.

“In our 20 years of doing focus groups and surveys, it was the first time GenZ was talking about housing,” Maria Theresa Kumar with Voto Latino said.

The economy, healthcare access and jobs are all issues on the minds of Latino voters. However, immigration and the border remain top of mind to the demographic. These organizations feel Trump’s policies will only hold Latino communities back.

“[Trump] calls for migrant detention camps and massive deportation programs,” Janet Murguía of Unidos Action Fund said. “Of course, the Latino community supports a secure border. There is a humanitarian element that should be a significant factor on how we manage the border.”

59 percent of Latino voters supported Joe Biden in 2020 according to Pew Research CENTER. These organizations say they are working to grow that support through face-to-face education. Especially in battle ground states like Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin and Georgia.

“We are done being a pinata for Trump and the extremists in his party,” Murguía said. “We are united in condemning this type of dangerous rhetoric and these types of draconian policies.”