UnidosUS Election 2020 Blog: Updates on the Latino Vote

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election 2020 update latino vote

November 9, 2020

An estimated 15 million Latinos turned out in the 2020 election. That’s a record number of voters in our community showing up and casting their ballots to help shape the future of our country.  

Ahead of the election, UnidosUS was able to register 130,000 new voters, shattering our goal of 80,000 new voters after the pandemic occurred. Latinos were deciding votes in at least Arizona, Florida, and Nevada, and we hope that both parties have now seen the impact that our community’s voice can make in determining the outcome of an election.  

We are so proud of our community for showing up at the polls and making sure that their voices were heard. As UnidosUS President and CEO Janet Murguía said on Saturday:

“Our country achieved a long overdue milestone with the election of Joe Biden and the first woman—and first woman of color and daughter of immigrants—to be elected as vice president in our country’s history, Kamala Harris. This is a proud day for communities of color and our country.”

It’s important to note that each and every year, nearly one million Latinos turn 18 and are eligible to vote. UnidosUS will continue to invest in our community and ensure that we have every opportunity possible to lift up our voices and create the America that we want to see.  

November 7, 2020

With a turnout that exceeded expectations, especially in battleground states, Latino voters made their voices heard in the historic 2020 election, in which former Vice President Joe Biden was elected the 46th president of the United States, and Sen. Kamala Harris as the first woman, Black American, and person of South Asian descent to be vice president.

Read our full press release here.

November 6, 2020

Today, we’re continuing to closely follow as every vote is counted. We knew it would take a bit of time, and it’s part of the process in making sure the results accurately show the will of the people. Soon, we’ll know who the voters have decided to be the next president of the United States.

Latinos have showed up to the polls in record numbers this election year, becoming the largest minority group in the electorate, and being vital to flip states like Arizona and Nevada. This election has proven, first, that the Latino vote is not a monolith, and, second, that it shouldn’t be taken for granted.

We continue seeing analysis in the media finally tackling the reality of the Latino community in the United States: that we are not homogenous, that we live very different realities, and that we cannot all be placed under one label.

Yesterday, we co-hosted a Facebook Live session, closely examining what the American Election Eve Poll says about how Latino voters are impacting the election. UnidosUS also joined the National Congress of American Indians, our Affiliate Promise Arizona, and Latino Decisions for a deep dive specifically into how Arizona’s Latino and Native American voters impacted the 2020 election. They reviewed how a strong community organizing happening since 2010 in that state has mobilized the Latino vote and impacted the election results.

The poll also showed how Latinos, voting for one or another party, are unified in the top priorities they care about, which we outlined in our November 4 entry: the coronavirus pandemic, jobs and the economy, and health care costs.

Remember that the electoral process is happening lawfully, and that it remains important to stay calm as we allow election officials to count every vote that Americans have cast. All of our voices will be heard.

November 5, 2020 

Hello! We still do not have an official final call in the presidential election, but that’s okay. We are hanging in there with you! The important thing is that every vote is being counted.

Votes continue to be counted in swing states across the country, which means that even though Election Day was two days ago, we still don’t know for sure who the president will be. It remains important to be calm and to let election officials do their jobs and count every vote and let Americans’ voices be heard.

Last night, UnidosUS was joined by experts from Latino Decisions, the African American Research Collaborative, Asian American Decisions, and the National Congress of American Indians to discuss the results of the 2020 American Election Eve Poll. The discussion touched on which issues were most important for voters and examined the ways in which voters of color played a decisive role in races across the country. You can watch the discussion here. 

Today at 2 p.m. ET join pollsters and voting experts, including Clarissa Martínez-de-Castro, Deputy Vice President of Policy and Advocacy at UnidosUS, on a webinar to discuss the key findings and implications from the Latino/Latinx portion of the American Election Eve poll. You can catch the discussion on the UnidosUS Facebook at this link. 

Tonight at 5:30 p.m. ET, UnidosUS and the National Congress of American Indians will take a deep dive into how Arizona’s Latino and Native American electorates voted during the 2020 election. Examining turnout and trends is key to understanding what issues are important to these voters in this key swing state.

November 4, 2020 

election 2020 update latino vote

As of 4 p.m. ET, we still do not know who has won the presidential election. That’s okay—our system is working exactly as it should, with seasoned election officials making sure that every ballot is counted and everyone is able to make their voices heard.

We would like to share these resources with you and urge you to do these three important tasks during this uncertain moment.  

  1. It’s important to stay calm. Our elections system is working exactly as intended.  
  1. Support election officials. Their work right now is critical to making sure that everyone’s votes are counted. 
  1. Defend the process. It is critical that we use our own voices to urge officials to continue counting every vote.  

But there is already something that’s clear: the 2020 election saw the highest voter turnout in the country in over a century, and a record number of Latinos have made their voices heard. 

We also have the results of the 2020 American Election Eve poll, which indicate that Latinos voted for former Vice President Joe Biden over President Trump, 70% to 27%. The poll also includes important information on the issues that were driving voters to make their decisions in this election. The top voting issues were:

  1. Coronavirus pandemic, 55%
  2. Jobs and the economy, 41%
  3. Health care costs, 32%.

Check out some of the state-specific breakdowns of the American Election Eve Poll on the Latino vote in key swing states:  

As the results continue to come in, it’s important that candidates, parties, and the media take note of where our vote made the biggest difference. For example, it’s becoming increasingly clear that in those states where candidates and parties made investments in the Latino vote, their investments paid off. Where parties wanted to make investments later in the game, like Florida and Texas, it was too late for them to pay off.  

Juntos—together—we wait for every vote to be counted. And juntos, our work continues no matter the results. We remain…

Posted by Conexion Americas on Wednesday, November 4, 2020

Check back tomorrow for more updates!

November 3, 2020 

Happy Election Day! If you haven’t voted early or by mail, this is your opportunity to make your voice heard by voting in person today. Remember that if you are in line before the polls close, there is a legal requirement that you must be allowed to vote.

It is also important to know that the election will probably not be called today. That’s okay! We want to make sure that every single vote is counted and that every eligible member of our community has the opportunity to make their voices heard at this critical moment for our country.

What we do already know is that this election has seen the highest voter turnout in over a century and is likely to reach 67%, according to the New York Times.

And the American Election Eve Poll is live here. There you can see how Latino voters and other communities of color information turned out this election and the issues that were important to them.

November 2, 2020 

Just one day until Election Day! While the presidential election most likely will not be called tomorrow, that’s okay—that means that all of the mail-in votes that were made this year are being counted, and it’s important for everyone’s voice to be heard in this critical decision for our country.
As Election Day closes in, a lot of attention is going to be paid to why certain candidates are gaining votes and why others aren’t. It all comes down to issues, parties, and candidates.

During a press call in mid-October, we learned from an UnidosUS poll that almost nine in 10 Latinos are worried about the state of the Affordable Care Act, meaning that health care is a top issue for Latino voters. We also partnered with Univision News and SOMOS to create a National Latino Voter Poll to see which issues are the most important to members of our community. If you would like to do an even deeper dive into the subject, check out part two of our Latino Voters and the 2020 Election series, “Issues, Parties, and Candidates.”  

Our Affiliates have also been critical in making sure that our community is engaged in the political process and ready to make sure that eligible members of our community can make their voices heard with their vote. To learn more about some of the civic engagement work that our Affiliates are doing, visit our blog.

UnidosUS President and CEO Janet Murguía appeared on Morning Joe yesterday to speak about Latino voter engagement and voter turnout in the 2020 election. It’s also important to note that UnidosUS has been in the news this week on important civic issues, including for Murguía’s previous remark that former President Obama was the “deporter-in-chief” appeared in a recent Spanish-language New York Times article and Studio 512 referenced the UnidosUS and Latino Decisions Latino voter poll and the issues that are important to our community.

Friday, October 30

With only four days left to Election Day, we have a few important updates on a recent voting panel and two new UnidosUS and partner publications with tremendous insights on the Latino vote.  

Yesterday evening, Clarissa Martinez de Castro, Deputy Vice President of Policy and Advocacy, spoke on a panel with former NBA player Eduardo Najera and actress Ana Ortiz. The panel was moderated by Ana Flores from the #WeAllGrow Latina blogger network. You can video the video here.

Panelists shared their own personal experiences voting and urged the audience to make a plan to vote if they haven’t already. With just four days left until Election Day and record early voting turnout, our community is poised to make a difference in battleground districts across the country.

See this video below to learn how you and your community can vote safely:

UnidosUS also partnered with Univision News and SOMOS on the National Latino Voter Poll, a survey that interviewed a representative sample of all Latino registered voters nationwide, and the Florida, Texas, Arizona, and Pennsylvania Voter Polls. These new polls reveal the diversity and complexity of the Latino electorate current political preferences, voting intention, concerns, opinions on recent developments, views on President Trump, Joe Biden, and much more.  

Today we also published part three of our Latino Voters and the 2020 Election series: “The Path to the Voting Booth,” providing an in-depth examination of the ways in which COVID-19 has affected the early voting in our community thus far and how our community plans to get to the poll in these final days.  

#CountEveryVote

It’s unlikely that we will know who the president is on Election Day. The important thing to do is remain calm, and push for every vote to be counted. We have resources on how to do just that. ENGLISH | EN ESPAÑOL

Thursday, October 29

More than one-third of all registered voters in the country have already cast their ballots, shattering previous early voting records. That means 75 million people have mailed their ballots or voted in person early. 

Polling places often have long lines, with people waiting hours to vote. Preparing to vote may be an extra step in the process this year, but making a plan before arriving helps the whole experience run more smoothly. 

We developed the UnidosUS ¡Adelante! 2020 Campaign to help Latinos and all Americans understand how we contribute to the democratic process, and how we have the power to move the country forward.

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