Latino community organizations gathered at Centro Hispano Oct. 27 to call for the mobilization of the Latino vote and to emphasize its importance in Wisconsin this election.
Centro Hispano, FWD Latino and Voces de la Frontera were joined by the Hispanic Federation at Centro’s brand-new building on Madison’s South Side to discuss its efforts to mobilize voters. With less than a month until the election, the organizations are pooling together to reach eligible Latino voters. The Hispanic Federation awarded the organizations $100,000 to bolster voter outreach efforts.
The three plan to use funds to increase canvassing, outreach, and hire staff to reach Wisconsin’s eligible Latino voters.
“The amazing work of these organizations have been put to the test while still making significant contributions to keep democracy alive,” said Frankie Miranda, CEO of the Hispanic Federation. “Wisconsin will play a pivotal role in the upcoming election, and with 180,000 eligible voters in this state, you will decide the outcome of the November election.”
The organizations have taken proactive measures to increase civic engagement. Centro Hispano has continuously set up information for voter registration at its weekly El Mercadito; Voces de la Frontera said it has already helped register 3,000 to 4,000 new voters.
Karen Menéndez Coller, executive director of Centro Hispano, noted that regardless of efforts so far, organizations have been left doing more with fewer funds available. The $100,000 grant comes as a gesture of relief for organizations like Centro. Coller said she has not seen many strong efforts to reach Latino voters in policies and budgets — but with the increase of funds, it hopes to reach as many as possible.
“There’s 15,000 immigrants in the state that are eligible to be naturalized. Can you imagine if we naturalized every single one of them? If everybody becomes very engaged and feels like they belong here every single election, we will decide everything that happens,” Menéndez Coller said. “Sometimes the narrative out there doesn’t get to know us as people that are excited to take part of democracy here in this country.”
Menéndez Coller wants to capitalize on Wisconsin’s fastest-growing demographic, Latinos, and utilize the state’s importance in this year’s election to highlight their needs. The Hispanic Federation accompanied the grant with the announcement of a survey on swing state Latino voter opinions in the presidential election.
The survey showed a majority support for Kamala Harris. Around 70% plan to vote in this election with 62% surveyed choosing Harris for president.
Joint efforts are already underway to reach Latino voters. From now until the election, the three organizations will knock on doors, launch social media strategies and canvass.
