In this election, the ‘big lie’ is about Latino voters and suppressing our votes

As the Latino electorate grows in power and reach, efforts to restrict access to the ballot for the supermajority of eligible Latino voters are also on the rise.

By Janet Murguía, President and CEO, UnidosUS

There is a plan to challenge valid election results, but it is not the one that millions of voters have heard about this election cycle. Spurious lawsuits about our voting process are already being filed in court to pre-challenge election results. These allegations lack any factual basis and are clearly part of a larger campaign to double down on the lies being spread about Latinos and immigrant communities generally.   

A Washington Post investigation showed that there have been millions of dollars spent just this year on online attack ads that spread dangerous lies about the immigrant community. These false narratives are just an attempt to motivate people with baseless conspiracies by asking them to become afraid of their neighbors. It is profoundly undemocratic to feed nativist hysteria with falsehoods or allege in advance of the vote that our election will be stolen.  

This utter nonsense also intends to prime voters to disregard valid election outcomes or be too afraid to vote because of how they may look. The risk is that some groups may even threaten to or commit violence if implicitly asked to do so, as happened in Springfield, Ohio on January 6, and in the U.K. in August due to anti-immigrant disinformation.   

An attempt to reduce Latino voter power 

Eight-in-10 Latinos (81%) in the U.S. are citizens and therefore eligible voters. As Latino power grows, so does the rhetoric intended to elicit harassment and discrimination against us, followed by restrictive voting laws. In fact, measures to restrict access to the ballot are gathering steam in states with growing Latino populations. This is not a coincidence. Nor is the newly announced ad blitz from a dark money group that is placing a million dollars of menacing advertisements on airwaves in predominantly Latino areas—a move clearly intended to keep eligible voters home. 

Across every battleground state, Latino voters could decide the coming presidential election. As such, Latino voters are increasingly a force that political candidates of both parties must factor into a winning strategy. In fact, the Latino electorate is the fastest-growing voting bloc in the country, with an estimated 36 million Latinos eligible to be registered to vote, although only half are registered. This growth represents half of the increase in all eligible voters since 2020, mostly driven by the million Latino teens who are U.S. citizens who turn 18 each year. 

Anti-immigrant rhetoric threatens our vote 

Allegations about “non-citizen” voting are refuted by countless factual studies and investigations. Combining longstanding—but false—narratives about voter fraud with anti-immigrant messages has turned the potent politics of immigration into a weapon that could be used to sabotage a free and fair election this fall. 

Although absurd falsehoods are fueling a rise in threats and harassment of election officials, American elections remain a global beacon of democracy. They include strict protocols to assure the accuracy of information given to voters and the soundness of federal and state election results. The real risk is that a deluge of disinformation will keep eligible voters from being safe at the polls, or even showing up. 

Disinformation serves another insidious purpose: to justify laws that disproportionately disenfranchise voters of color, as well as less affluent, older and disabled voters. Because 1 in 10 eligible voters cannot easily show proof of citizenship, partisan ballot measures on “noncitizen” voting on the ballot this year in eight states (seven of which are majority Republican) would deny anyone without a passport or birth certificate in hand the right to vote. 

Let’s focus on a fair and free election 

We must focus on registering eligible voters, empowering voters with accurate information and ensuring that extremist violent groups cannot intimidate or harass voters at the polls or ballot box. We also need policies to expand—rather than restrict—access to voting, making it easier to participate in our democracy. This includes enacting a new Voting Rights Act for our time, securing automatic voter registration at age 18 for U.S. citizens, sidelining the undemocratic Electoral College using the National Popular Vote Compact, and ensuring access to accurate information in-language alongside convenient ways to vote such as ready access to the ballot box, early and mail-in voting. 

Finally, we must remind every American of the power and importance of their unique voice. Together, our voice is stronger than the loudest hateful comments in the room and the best way to use our voice is to vote. Our country is strongest when voters can safely exercise their fundamental rights under our laws. We call on policymakers, civic leaders and citizens of every community to reject the politics of fear and division, condemn this hateful rhetoric and focus instead on the good work of our democracy: a fair and free election and securing the peaceful transfer of power.