Clarissa Martinez de Castro, Director, Civic Engagement, NCLR
In 2008 many new voters went to the polls for the first time—including about two million Latinos. But in the aftermath of the economic crisis, and with a Congress continually locked down in partisan battles, more and more people today are disenchanted or downright antagonistic toward government as a whole.
There is no doubt we need our elected officials to be fully committed to governing in a way that allows Americans from every walk of life to achieve the American Dream. But who is going to make them stay true to that task?
Antigovernment fervor is being used to undermine longstanding efforts to level the playing field for all Americans. Those efforts include making improvements in quality education, opening access to health care, and allowing Americans to house their families—all things that are now under assault. And if we cannot restore faith in democracy and government, all the gains we have made and seek to make in the future may be eroded and blocked.
The Latino community is an untapped ally in this fight. Polling shows that:
- Latinos believe, whether they identify as conservative or liberal, that government is an important partner and has a role to play in looking out for the well-being of the people.
- Latinos believe in the importance of—and are willing to pay more taxes to have—good schools and quality education. The same is true where it comes to access to health care.
Even so, as an overall younger and growing population, many Latinos are still not registered voters. We are adding about two million new voters to the electorate every four years, but our potential is significantly larger. In 2008 alone, 9.6 million Latino citizens of voting age were not registered to vote, and that number surpassed 10 million in 2010. And a significant number of Latinos who are registered report no meaningful outreach from parties or candidates—the most significant machines driving electoral activity.
The good news is that strong institutions are stepping up to the plate. The lesson from 2008 is that an election alone is not enough of an impetus to continually drive Latinos to register and actually vote. We have to continue adding young people and new voters to the electorate, and we need to ensure that these voters have a way—and a reason—to stay active. NCLR has engaged in an intense, in-depth effort to contribute to that equation. We are combining our proven policy and advocacy track record with the most successful Latino voter engagement field model to create an approach that will build more voters and more advocates. We have the number one Latino-focused voter registration project in the country and have registered more than 220,000 Latinos since 2008. We also provide services that are culturally competent and grounded in local communities, thanks to the work we do with our nearly 300 affiliated community-based organizations throughout the country that directly serve Latino families.
We have had a chance to see this in action—working with organizations to increase their own capacity to do policy advocacy and encourage their constituents to register to vote.
And we have seen the difference it can make in nurturing the leadership and activism of the community members who run our field canvassing campaigns, who have gone on to become captains and organizers, and are translating electoral organizing into issue advocacy.
In addition, we are joining hands with sister organizations to ensure that our efforts maximize Hispanic voting participation in the upcoming election and beyond. The National Latino Civic Engagement Table (which includes the Center for Community Change, Mi Familia Vota, the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, and Voto Latino) aims to leverage our combined strengths and expertise, from field to digital to network organizing. And renewed collaboration with media partners through the ya es hora ¡Ve Y Vota! campaign will help us reach more Hispanic households and carry forth the message of the critical importance of civic participation.
But we cannot achieve these results without the support of more allies. There is very real concern that voter registration as a whole, and particularly Latino registration, may be starved this year, replaced by the allure of superPACs and other direct campaign giving that, sadly, seldom produces new voters. Registering and mobilizing Latinos in communities across the country is intensive work, and it will take many hands—we need the support of individuals, organizations, foundations, and donors. That collaboration can turn disenchantment into the energy, enthusiasm, and activism that will restore our country to greatness.