What’s at Stake

Latinas Could Change the 2020 Election

With 29 million eligible voters, their influence is undeniable

A Sun Valley resident votes at the polling station located at Our Lady of The Holy Church on election day at the Sun Valley’s Latino district, Los Angeles County. Photo: Joe Klamar/AFP/Getty Images

ZORA has delved into what’s at stake in this election cycle with an important series about women of color and the vote. We sought the insight of political activists, advocacy groups, lawmakers, and community stakeholders. Read on for insight into a voting bloc that may impact not just the next election, but America’s future course. Keep an eye on What’s at Stake all week long.

Lizette Escobedo’s parents, Efrain and Rosa, were strangers when they arrived in the United States from Mexico decades ago. They were young, undocumented, and unsure. Yet with Efrain’s night shift at a warehouse, Rosa’s Avon and Mary Kay sales, plus the money from clothing she peddled at a swap meet on weekends, the couple built a life in California for themselves and their five children.

Today, Escobedo’s mother and father are proud U.S. citizens who have consistently voted in local and national elections. They are also proud of Escebedo, the director of the National Census Program at NALEO Educational Fund, a nationally recognized organization that empowers Latinos politically.

In a year when the presidential election and the U.S. Census coincide, the civic organizer has two wishes: that her community will be accurately counted, and that everyone who can do so will vote.

“We have 50 million Latinos in the U.S., and 29 million are eligible to vote,” Escobedo tells ZORA, citing 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data.

In Spanish, the phrase “tu voto cuenta” means “your vote counts.” In this general election, the collective voices of Latinas and the overall community could “count” in decisive ways.

President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence are squaring off against former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris; she is the first South Asian American and Black woman in history nominated for vice president on a major-party ticket.

The Latino vote has been robust in recent elections. In 2018, 11.2 million Latinos voted in the midterms. That year, several Latinas achieved historic milestones. Among them: Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) was elected governor…