Myths about the Latino Vote (and how they matter for the midterms)
By: Natasha Piñon
With midterms fast approaching, sifting through political narratives can feel like a sludge. Luckily, Dímelo did it for you!
Though disinformation has been around for as long as information, an increased interest in “fake news” within our current political climate makes it important to constantly analyze the validity of narratives that we receive in media.
Below, we’ve separated fact from fiction when it comes to the Latino vote in U.S., letting you know how these common myths might come up in the midterms.
Myth: Latinos are all Democrats. Those who are Republican only vote that way because they’re pro-life.
Fact: Like any voting group, Latinos have a wide array of disparate policy interests. In acknowledgement of this, Democrats, in recent years, have spent increasingly large amounts of time and money trying to connect with Latino voters. The results have been mixed. Consequently, the midterms will prove a major moment in terms of identifying what the modern day “Latino vote” stands for in the realm of national politics.
Myth: Latinos don’t vote.
Fact: This is kind of true — and up to you to change! Compared to other Americans, Latinos have historically voted at a lower rate. In the 2016 election, for example, Census data found that Latinos comprised 28% of Texas’s eligible voting population — and only 20% of those who ended up turning out to vote. Similar numbers are true of over a dozen districts that Democrats are looking to target for flipping the House this election: Latinos comprise 20 percent or more of the population in over half of the 23 seats necessary for a Democrat flip of the House, Census data finds.
That said, as Politico reported, a survey distributed to voters in battleground districts found that Latinos were less likely to rate themselves as “almost certain” to vote compared to white and African-American voters. (Only 55 percent of Latino voters said that they were “almost certain” to vote in the midterms.)
Myth: No Latinos are registered.
Fact: Even though Latinos ranked themselves less likely to vote than other groups, there are still approximately 29 million Latinos registered to vote, according to Pew Research Center. Make sure you’re one of them!
Myth: The Latino vote has the same impact in every state.
Fact: Actually, as of last year, the Pew Research Center found that 71 percent of Latino voters live in six states: California, Texas, Florida, New York, Arizona and Illinois. This means different things for each state though. In our state of California, Latino voters have a big impact. There are 7.7 million Latino voters in California and we make up 30 percent of all eligible voters.
