Listos para Votar: Latino Immigrants are Energized and Ready for the 2020 Elections
By: National Center For Institutional Diversity
Tags: Immigration, Latinos, Election 2020

By Dr. Barbara Gomez-Aguinaga

Photo by Jennifer Griffin on Unsplash

There are currently more than 23 million immigrants in the United States who are eligible to vote, and most of them are Latinos. With higher turnout rates than their US-born Latino counterparts, Latino immigrants who are eligible to vote are an energized and important, yet often overlooked, group who are ready to cast a ballot in the 2020 presidential election. This essay tackles multiple issues related to the Latino immigrant vote, including the group’s enthusiasm and propensity to vote, their participation rates in past elections, and the lack of political outreach from campaigns and organizations.

The Unheard Enthusiasm of Naturalized Latinos

The vast majority of Latino immigrants who are eligible to vote have reported that they plan to participate in the November 2020 elections, according to a weekly tracking poll from NALEO Educational Fund. As Figure 1 shows, almost 3 in every 4 Latino eligible voters who are immigrants said they are almost certain they will vote in the upcoming elections. Only 10% of Latino immigrant eligible voters reported a low propensity to vote in 2020.

Figure 1. Propensity to Vote in the 2020 presidential election among Latino Immigrants Who Are Eligible to Vote, September 2020.

Source: NALEO Educational Fund and Latino Decisions, 2020 Latino Weekly Tracking Poll.

More importantly, over 60% of Latino immigrants who are eligible to vote now are more enthusiastic about participating in the 2020 elections than they were in 2016. This is a significant increase in enthusiasm compared to the 2016 election, when only 51% of Latino voters reported more enthusiasm to vote in 2016 than in 2012, as Figure 2 shows.

Figure 2. Reported enthusiasm to vote in the ongoing presidential election compared to the previous election among Latino immigrants who are eligible to vote

Sources: 2020, 2016 and 2012 Weekly Tracking Polls from NALEO Education Fund, Latino Decisions, and other collaborators

The increasing levels of enthusiasm to vote among Latino immigrants who are eligible to vote likely occur because there are multiple substantial policy issues at stake for the group, including responding to the COVID-19 pandemic (50%), lowering the costs of healthcare (31%), and addressing racism and discrimination in the United States (27%), according to the weekly tracking poll from NALEO Educational Fund.

For the 2020 election, the majority of Latino immigrants who are eligible to vote have reported that they will cast their ballots by mail (54%). In fact, among US Latinos, immigrants who are eligible to vote reported the highest likelihood of voting by mail than US-born Latinos (49% of 2nd generation, and 53% of 3rd generation). This issue, along with the high levels of COVID-19 infections among US Latinos, highlights the importance of assuring that voting by mail is protected in the incoming presidential election.

Beyond Motivation: Latino Immigrant Voters Participate at Higher Rates than US-born Latinos

Besides the high levels of motivation that eligible Latino immigrant voters have for the 2020 election, why should political practitioners, organizations, and scholars aim to mobilize this group? Latino immigrants who are eligible to vote are an important part of the 2020 elections not only because immigrant voters now make up about 10% of the US electorate, but also because Latinos make up the majority of immigrants who are eligible to vote. Specifically, Latinos represent more than a third of immigrants who are eligible to vote, accounting for 7.5 million voters across the country.

More importantly, Latino immigrants who are eligible to vote have consistently been more likely to participate in presidential elections than their US-born Latina/o counterparts. As Figure 3 shows, only 46% of US-born Latinos cast a ballot in the 2016 presidential election, compared to 53% of naturalized Latinos in the same election year. The voting gap among US-born and foreign-born Latinos has consistently ranged between 6 and 8 percentage points in the past five presidential elections, as Figure 3 shows.

Figure 3. Latino Turnout Rates among Eligible Voters by Nativity

Source: Pew Research Center, 2020.

The large voting share of immigrants who are eligible to vote and are Latinos as well as the greater turnout rates among naturalized Latino immigrants are particularly crucial in the 2020 presidential election given that a significant share of Latino immigrant voters resides in battleground states that are projected to determine the outcome of the 2020 presidential election such as Texas and Florida.

The Forgotten Electorate: Fewer than Half of Naturalized Latinos Have Been Contacted to Vote

Despite their high levels of enthusiasm and higher turnout rates than their US-born Latino counterparts, the majority of Latino immigrants who are eligible to vote (53%) have reported that no campaign or organization has contacted them to register or to vote so far in 2020.

Political campaign and organizations aimed to mobilize voters should take note not only because Latino immigrant voters are motivated to participate in the 2020 presidential election and have a long-standing record of higher turnout rates than US-born Latinos, but also because studies have found that voter mobilization efforts, particularly face-to-face interactions, can increase the propensity to vote among constituents who are outreached.

Latino immigrants who are eligible to vote have increasingly participated in the US political system not only by casting ballots but also by participating in protests, community organizations and civic volunteerism. These trends not only provide an indication of the successful integration of Latino immigrants to American society but also show that Latino immigrant voters are actively engaged in shaping the future of our country. Regardless of this, political campaigns and parties have overlooked the influence and contributions that Latino immigrants can have in our growingly diverse democracy. With the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, mobilization efforts from political parties and community-based organizations are more crucial than ever to provide accurate information and confidence on political participation among underrepresented groups such as Latino immigrant voters.