Signs point to higher turnout for Arizona Latino voters in November

PHOENIX — There are already signs that Latino voter turnout in Arizona will be higher in November than in previous elections.

Voter data that the nonprofit Chicanos Por La Causa got from the Arizona Secretary of State’s office shows more than 156,000 Latinos cast a ballot in Arizona’s primary election. That’s an increase of more than 30,000 Latino voters relative to the last midterm primary election in 2018.

Of those Latinos who voted in August, more than 93,000 had previously missed one or both of the 2018 and 2020 primary elections.

“That means that nearly six out of 10 of the Latino primary voters were the low-propensity voters that we’re specifically targeting with this campaign,” said Joe Garcia, executive director of Sí Se Vota CPLC Action Fund.

Garcia was referring to CPLC’s $10 million Latino Loud voter outreach campaign. In addition to registering new Latino voters, the campaign targets Latinos who are registered to vote but haven’t cast a ballot in one or two of the last elections.

The goal is to increase Latino participation by more than 50,000 votes in Arizona’s midterm elections.

Garcia said he’s “very, very encouraged by the numbers we’ve seen in the primary election” and added he’s hopeful that momentum will continue into November.

“We still have until Oct. 11 to register as many voters as we can,” he said. “After that, it’s going to be getting people to make sure they do vote.”

Currently, Latinos represent 32% of Arizona’s population and 23% of eligible voters.

But their political power has not been fully actualized because of traditionally low voter turnout. More than 437,000 registered Latino voters did not cast a ballot in either or both of the 2018 or 2020 elections, according to CPLC.

Garcia said Latino participation in the primary provides evidence that “we are actually creating a movement that is going to result in generational change when it comes to voting behaviors from the Latino community.”

“If the kids see their parents vote, then the kids are going to know that voting is important and voting is something that they do as a family,” he added.

To date, the Latino Loud campaign has registered nearly 33,000 new Latino voters and canvassers have knocked on more than 900,000 homes in the Phoenix area, Tucson and Yuma.

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