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ICYMI Dallas Morning News Op-ed: Neglect Of Latino Voters Could Mean Lower Turnout

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Texas has seen historic surge in registered voters ahead of midterms, but many Latinos still ignored by campaigns and parties

AUSTIN, TX – In an op-ed published yesterday in the Dallas Morning News, Latino Decisions’ Senior Strategist and Advisor David Ayón pointed to recent polling they’ve conducted to show Latinos are tuned into what’s happening in their communities and are interested in participating, but a lack of contact from parties and campaigns could stunt turnout once again.

From the piece:

A consistent finding across elections and states is that about 60 percent of Latino registered voters nationwide and in each of Texas, Florida and California report not being contacted. This lack of outreach compounds the effects of the relative youth of Hispanic U.S. citizens, on top of the limiting effect on this electorate of legal permanent residents who have not naturalized. Until those citizens of voting age have registered and been contacted by parties and campaigns, our electoral system fails to engage and integrate them, election after election.

What has risen most notably as a Hispanic voter priority this fall is the issue of creating more jobs. The growing economy, however, has just as notably not helped either Trump or Republican candidates in our tracking poll. Immigration issues and expanding access to health care — including protecting Obamacare — appear to alienate most Latino registered voters from Republican policy positions and rhetoric. Most recently, the battle over Trump Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh threatens to add to Hispanic voter antipathy toward the president and his party — with nearly 3 out of 4 Latino registered voters now saying that Kavanaugh should withdraw his nomination.

Mario Carrillo, Director of America’s Voice Texas issued the following statement

Latinos in Texas have the chance to change the course of our state for generations. Our communities are paying attention, wanting to participate, but campaigns cannot keep ignoring us. We must break this cycle of a lack of investments into our community, and then assigning blame if we don’t turn out in record numbers.

The importance of outreach is especially true for young Latinos, who often don’t have a history of voting. We commend the organizations across the state committed to engaging young voters of color, Jolt Texas, Move Texas, Mi Familia Vota, among others, but encourage candidates, campaigns, and parties to fully invest in our communities to ensure that our voices are heard, and that we have the resources we need to further participate in our country’s democracy.