NCLR’s (National Council of La Raza) Mobilize to Vote (M2V) campaign, a nonpartisan voter engagement effort, announced that it has registered over 54,000 Hispanics to vote in the upcoming November election. M2V’s Florida effort focused on the two regions with the largest Hispanic populations in the state—Southern and Central Florida—and primarily conducted its canvassing operations in Miami-Dade and Osceola Counties. M2V’s field operations, which were launched in March, produced the state’s second-largest number of voter registrations for any third-party voter registration group.
“The goal of our work is to have every eligible American registered and able to vote,” said Clarissa Martínez-De-Castro, Director of Civic Engagement and Immigration, NCLR. “We know voter registration is essential, and our community is responding to the invitation to participate. In the next several weeks, we will concentrate on providing the information that voters need to turn out to vote and take a stand for their community.”
M2V’s efforts support civic engagement and involvement that extends beyond Election Day. In addition to its multi-cycle voter participation efforts, NCLR has also held a series of town hall meetings in Florida and other states, providing the space to educate and elevate the perspectives of Latino voters on a variety of issues. Hispanics in Florida and other states have been disproportionately impacted by the housing and employment crisis—two issues that Latinos will look to candidates at the local and national level for solutions. NCLR also conducted a recent focus group of Hispanic voters across the state of Florida that measured Latino voter attitudes on jobs and the economy. The resulting study underscored that stable employment and living wages are at the top of Latino voters’ concerns, and that this electorate expects its leadership to help stimulate job creation.
The Latino electorate is poised to play a central role in the upcoming elections, particularly in important swing states such as Florida, where Latino voters have shown they are willing to vote for candidates who take a stand on the issues they care about, regardless of the candidate’s party affiliation.
“Latinos in Florida are a critical electorate, and we want the community to fully realize their political potential in the coming election and beyond,” Martínez-De-Castro added. “For now, the focus is on ensuring that registered voters turn out and making sure that people are well-informed about the opportunity to vote early or by mail so that they can overcome transportation or time constraints on Election Day. After Election Day, our work will continue to ensure that electoral voice is translated into policy action that responds to our country’s challenges and opportunities.”
