A record number of eligible Latinos have registered to vote following the arrival of the vice president Kamala Harris to the contest for the White Houseespecially among young voters and women, in states considered key to winning the November election, which could tip the balance in favor of the Democratic candidate.
The organization Latin Vote announced at a press conference on Tuesday that it has surpassed the voter registration goal in five key states: Florida, Texas, Georgia, Arizona y North Carolina by registering 112,035 Latino voters so far this year.
Maria Teresa Kumardirector of Voto Latino, said her organization’s voter registration increased by 200% and attributed the unusual increase to Harris’ arrival in the race for the Presidency in the United States.
“All of this enthusiasm started to build and accumulate around July 21, when President Joe Biden decided to step aside and nominate and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris.”the activist elaborated.
Of the total (112,035) registered by the organization this year, 67,092 voters registered after July 21, an unprecedented figure in the 20 years in which the organization has promoted voter participation.
Kumar also highlighted the increase achieved with respect to the previous elections. And it is that, for the 2016 election, the Voto Latino campaign in favor of Hillary Clinton managed to register 2,252 Hispanic voters in July of that year.
In the same month, but in 2020, 25,156 Latino voters were registered in favor of President Joe Biden, almost half of the 50,111 who registered between July 21 and July 31 of this year, supported by Harris.
Even the mood of voters since Harris came into office has surpassed that awakened by the former president’s candidacy. Barack Obama (2009-2017).
Ameer Patela researcher at Voto Latino, said that since the vice president landed in the presidential race, there has been a “disproportionate number” of young voters, especially young Latinas, who have registered to vote.
Of the 67,092 voters who registered after July 21, 55% were between 18 and 29 years old and 86% were between 18 and 39 years old. Of the total, 69.7% were women.
The enthusiasm of new voters is not only motivated by the fight for women’s reproductive rights. In fact, the first issue that concerns the women voters surveyed by Voto Latino is the economy, better salaries and rent control.
The second most important issue is abortion rights, followed by gun control and security in educational institutions.
In this regard, Kumar highlighted the campaigns carried out by women in southern Texas in favor of Harris and her candidate, the governor of Minnesota, Tim Walzwith a call to attention about school shootings, something not seen in 2020.
Texas leads
It is precisely in Texas where the most new voters have registered Voto Latino after Harris’ arrival with 17,000 registered voters, followed by Florida with 13,600, Georgia (11,500), North Carolina (7,500) and Arizona (4,500).
Kumar stressed the importance of these votes, especially in states where President Joe Biden won by just over 10,000 votes, such as Georgia and Arizona.
“Harris has been stealing votes from Trump in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Arizona and Nevada, key states in this battleground”the activist highlighted.
He added that the vice president is not only attractive to independent voters but also to Republicans, a clear disadvantage for the former president. Donald Trump.
More than 36 million eligible Latinos will be able to vote this year. But of those, only 26 million are registered to vote, and only 16 million voted in the last presidential election.
Activists’ efforts have focused on encouraging the 20 million Latinos who could vote but do not.
Kumar insisted that there is an incredible opportunity to strengthen the political voice of the Hispanic community, which, although not monolithic, has largely opted for the Democrats.
The message was delivered just in time for the National Voter Registration Day. EFE (I)
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