Affiliate Partnerships: Building Power for the 2024 Elections

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UnidosUS launches the Building Power 2024 initiative to empower Latino voters, elevate Hispanic leaders and shape public discourse through our Affiliates, ensuring our community’s priorities are addressed in the upcoming elections. 

This election cycle, over 17 million Latinos are expected to make their voices heard, making our community a critical factor in determining the winning equation for the White House, Congressional balance of power and numerous state and local races.  

While our potential impact is clear, so much more work is needed to properly amplify the Latino voice on important issue priorities and ensure that viable solutions are put in place to address them. The stakes are extremely high for Latino families who face multiple barriers to economic opportunity. And as an electorate, we continue to be misunderstood and targeted by disinformation and a general lack of effort to engage Latinos — effectively preventing action on issues that are most important to the community.  

Over the past year, UnidosUS worked to develop a new strategic direction to address these challenges. Specifically, we established the Building Power 2024 initiative (BP24), which seeks to work with our Affiliates and community to:  

  • Shape the public discourse, focusing the attention of media and campaigns on the issues that matter to the Latino community while elevating and promoting program and policy solutions.  
  • Grow and inform the Latino electorate, by registering 97,500 Latinos to vote, mobilizing more than 500,000 voters to the polls, and equipping Latino voters with the information they need on issues and candidates before stepping into the voting booth.  
  • Elevate Hispanic leaders, by developing more opportunities for Latinos to emerge and be recognized as national leaders in their fields and developing more platforms where leaders can gain greater visibility while elevating the important priorities of the Latino community.  

Our success is anchored in community and will largely depend on the support and participation of our Affiliate Network — our on-the-ground partners who can speak to the issues, bring the community to the table and partner with us to advance solutions that resonate with Latinos.  

In May, UnidosUS President and CEO Janet Murguía and members of the UnidosUS leadership team officially launched this initiative with the Affiliate Network. We heard from several Affiliates about the efforts they are leading to build power for our community, specifically around mobilizing and registering Latinos to vote. We hope to continue building on this energy to reach the impact we are seeking. Specifically, our call to action as part of this initiative is for you, as leaders within your communities, to join us by participating in any of the following activities:  

  • Joining the Building Power 2024 Speakers’ Bureau. The Speaker’s Bureau is a key pillar of the UnidosUS Building Power 2024 Initiative (BP24). As we aim to increase media coverage on issues most important to the Latino community, we need access to local spokespeople willing to speak with the media about the issues that most affect Latino voters and the Latino community and ready to elevate the solutions, many tested and defined in partnership with our Affiliates.  UnidosUS Affiliates are our most powerful resource, providing local “frontline” perspectives on the issues. If you are interested in learning more, or would like to volunteer as a spokesperson, please fill out this form and we will be in touch soon!  
  • Identifying Media Opportunities. As part of our efforts to amplify our message of Building Power, we are actively seeking engagements with the media. We are asking for your help in identifying media opportunities for us within your local and state contacts to help move this effort forward. If you have any leads and/or are interested in a joint media opportunity with UnidosUS, please send us a note at [email protected].   
  • Co-hosting or Participating in Events. A critical aspect of our BP24 Initiative is the opportunity for UnidosUS to be in community, elevating our most critical issues in partnership with our Affiliates. As our work develops, we will engage in local events to educate and inform key decision makers about the effects of policies and decisions on our community and the solutions that we know work. Recently, we were able to showcase this partnership:  
    • UnidosUS participated in a session with Department of Commerce Deputy Secretary Don Graves where our Arizona Affiliate Chicanos Por La Causa (CPLC) joined as a participant and contributed a unique and critical voice that demonstrated the power of the Affiliate and UnidosUS partnership.   
    • UnidosUS visited our Affiliate The Concilio in Dallas, Texas for a listening session with promotoras de salud. The session focused on their work to educate the community about healthy eating, but also on the myriad of challenges they help Latino families address, including enrollment in Medicaid.  Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights Director Melanie Fontes Rainer participated in the session and discussed ways in which her office can be helpful in addressing challenges facing Latinos in Texas.  

If you have any opportunity to co-host or want to learn more about participating in related events with UnidosUS, please send us a note at [email protected].   

  • Advancing Civic Engagement Efforts.  As part of our ongoing efforts to grow and inform the Latino electorate, UnidosUS is developing tools and resources that Affiliates can use to engage their networks and community. 
    • Voter Participation Tools
      • Check Registration status or Register to Vote (https://unidosus.org/become-a-voter/). We also have an Affiliate tool that can assist in tracking the number of individuals that your organization registers to vote. Please reach out to [email protected] if interested.  
      • Coming up in June: Video curriculum to help our community discern mis/disinformation available on our website.  If you would like a notification when this tool is available, please email [email protected].  
  • Hispanic Electorate Data Hub powered by the UnidosUS Latino Vote Initiative. This strategy-informing platform provides detailed insights into the makeup, distribution and participation trends of Latino voters over the last two decades; multi-year interactive polling data on their priorities, views on parties and candidates and outreach received; and the potential impact of this fast-growing electorate in competitive districts. The data hub is a tool to uplift the voter registration opportunity gap; provide a more robust context about Latino voters and educate press and others who comment about this electorate, and strengthen our community’s agency in telling its own story.  
    • You can access the data hub here. 
    • Phase 2 of the hub will be unveiled in June and will include Congressional district level data. 
  • Latino Vote Briefing Series. Building on its 2023 Poll of the Hispanic Electorate, UnidosUS launched The Latino Vote Briefing Series to continue providing accurate information about Hispanic voters. These virtual briefings tackle critical topics shaping Latino voter perspectives and sentiment.
    • 2023 Poll of the Hispanic Electorate briefings. For recordings and slide decks of results, see: US, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas. 
    • Part I: Economic and Pocketbook Issues Influencing Hispanic Voter Perspectives. For a detailed memo on Hispanic voters’ economic concerns, a presentation of our findings, and a recording of our virtual briefing, see here. 
    • Part II: Latino Candidate and Party Support. For a detailed memo on Latino candidate and party support, presentation of our findings, and recording of our virtual briefing, see here. 
  • How to Report Voter Intimidation. Community-based organizations can act as a critical resource in protecting voter rights.  
    • Election Protection Hotline: 1-888-VE-Y-VOTA (English/Spanish), also 1-866-OUR-VOTE 
    • U.S. Department of Justice Voting Rights Hotline: 800-253-3931; TTY line 877-267-8971, TTY line at 877-267-8971 or email the Justice Department Civil Rights Division at [email protected]. 
    • Local and state officials, including poll workers; your county clerk, elections commissioner, elections supervisor; or your state board of elections state board of elections. 

Join UnidosUS to amplify our efforts and ensure that the voice of Latinos is heard even louder this year.  Our Affiliates are key to this work and we are excited to support and elevate your efforts, to take your feedback and ideas, and to call on you to make our work stronger. Mil gracias for your continued dedication and partnership!