UnidosUS Registers More Than 10,000 New Voters in Florida Just Eight Weeks into Its Voter Outreach Campaign

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MIAMI, Fla.—Today, UnidosUS (formerly NCLR) announced it had surpassed the 10,000 mark of new registered voters in the state of Florida. In just under eight weeks, teams in Miami and Orlando have canvassed neighborhoods in the heavily Latino-populated South and Central Florida cities looking for eligible unregistered Latinos. U.S. Census figures from 2008 to 2016 showed that nearly 400,000 eligible Latinos have registered to vote in Florida—that number is expected to rise in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, as Puerto Rican families, especially those with school-age children, displaced by the storm have settled primarily into neighborhoods in the Orlando and Miami areas.

“We are very encouraged by the numbers so far and that Latinos have shown an enthusiasm for registering and becoming involved in the political process. We are trying to impart on our community that their vote is their voice and that in Florida, some races are won by the slimmest of margins, so every does indeed count,” said Jared Nordlund, Senior Strategist, UnidosUS.

The Power of 18 community voter registration canvassing program is the latest initiative that builds on ongoing outreach efforts by UnidosUS under the “Power of 18” umbrella, including its High School Democracy Project, Latino Empowerment and Advocacy Project (LEAP) and online digital platforms such as the Power of 18 website and the Become a Voter tool, which are geared towards younger voters. Over the last decade, UnidosUS has registered 240,000 new voters in Florida and more than 610,000 nationally.