Georgia has seen a 20% increase in Latino voter registration statewide since last October, according to the Gainesville Times:
A growing population, increased political activism and Donald Trump’s rise in the Republican Party have prompted a dramatic increase in voter registration among Latinos in Hall County and across Georgia.
Nearly 800 Latinos in Hall joined the voter rolls between October and April, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.
Of 81,535 active voters in Hall in 2014, just 3,822 were Latinos.
This year, however, there are already 4,552 active Latinos among 81,204 total voters in the county, according to Hall Elections Director Charlotte Sosebee.
So not only is Latino voter registration growing, but this demographic represents a larger share of the total county voter pool than it did two years ago.
“There is a big increase of the Latino vote happening statewide and locally, which is outpacing other demographic groups,” said Jerry Gonzalez, executive director of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials.
“As we get closer to the voter registration deadline, we will see an unprecedented spike in Latino voter registration and engagement.”
Across Georgia, more than 16,000 Latinos registered to vote since October, marking a 20 percent increase statewide.
Hall trails only Gwinnett, Cobb, Fulton and DeKalb counties in the number of new Latino voters registered. Forsyth County, meanwhile, reports having 360 new Latino voters on its rolls this election cycle.Latinos make up 2.1 percent of the Georgia’s 4.9 million voters, while whites account for 58.2 percent and African-Americans 29.3 percent.
Groups have noted spikes in voter registration among Latinos and immigrants all around the nation, a good amount of it driven due to the hateful rhetoric from the Republican nominee for President.
In Nevada, citizenship workshops from the Culinary Workers Union and PLAN have resulted in nearly 2,000 immigrants completing and submitting naturalization applications.
“For new citizens, especially those in the swing state of Nevada, it’s an opportunity to participate in an election that could have a deep impact on their lives and generations to come,” noted the Emerson Collective.
In Texas, naturalization applications to the federal government have jumped nearly 14 percent. And, local groups have gone from hosting two to three citizenship classes a month, to 13 a month.
In Florida, one Miamiworkshop sponsored by the Florida Immigrant Coalition and Catholic Legal Services and others “wound up the Marlin’s Stadium walkway for what seemed like miles.”
