UnidosUS, Mi Familia Vota Release National Poll On Hispanic Voters

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Results Represent Major Shift In Salient Issues To Latino Voters

WASHINGTON, DC – UnidosUS, the nation’s largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization, and Mi Familia Vota, a national civic engagement organization, today released the results of a major national poll of Hispanic voters. The results show a significant shift in some of the top issues among Latino voters: 

  • Inflation and jobs are the #1 and #3 priorities, findings that track with long-standing Latino concerns about the economy. Health care is the fourth priority. 
  • Notably, crime/gun violence rose to #2, driven by concerns about easy access to guns and school shootings.  
  • For the first time, abortion is among the top five issues, and more than 70 percent of Latino voters believe it should remain legal, no matter their own personal beliefs on the issue. 
  • While immigration is not among the top five issues, Latino voters believe strongly that leaders in Washington should provide a path to citizenship, or in the absence of Congressional action, the president should take executive action. 
  • A majority of Latino voters (60 percent) believe the country is on the wrong track. At the moment, 59 percent of Hispanic voters nationally say they are 100 percent certain they will vote in November. 

You can view a more in depth deck outlining topline results here, and a chart with Latino voter data in competitive districts here. You can access a video recording of today’s briefing here.

Clarissa Martínez De Castro, Vice President, UnidosUS Latino Vote Initiative said: 

“Latino voters are not apathetic, they are unconvinced. They are sending a wake-up call to both parties, which remain underwater compared to previous peaks in Hispanic support and persist in their chronic under-engagement and under-investment in these voters. As the second largest group of voting-age Americans, with many not yet solidly aligned with either party, Hispanic voters can be a stabilizing force in American politics. They reject extremes, oppose taking away rights—as illustrated by their views on abortion—and want to see progress on challenges facing our country and elected officials willing to work together to get things done. UnidosUS and Mi Familia Vota are coming together to challenge the misconceptions about this multiracial voting community, and advance its full electoral and advocacy engagement.” 

Héctor Sánchez Barba, Executive Director and CEO of Mi Familia Vota said:  

“Mi Familia Vota is committed to building Latino political power. This poll shows that our diverse community aligns on priority issues, and wants Congress to produce solutions. A majority of Latinos we polled across the country are planning to vote in the 2022 election, with over 60% of Latinos in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, and Pennsylvania saying they are 100% certain to vote. Latino voters’ interest in participating in the 2022 midterms is an opportunity, not a guarantee of voter turnout. To turn out Latino voters, both parties must invest in reaching our community like they would any other valued constituency. Sadly of those polled, only 29% and 19%, respectively, say Democrats or Republicans have contacted them. We know that when we do our work in the community, educating and working to empower voters, we turn out in record numbers. That is why Mi Familia Vota is working with UnidosUS to fight to ensure our voices are heard in this critically important election cycle.” 

Gary Segura, Founding Partner and President, BSP Research said:  

“The Latino electorate is grumpy, fearful about the economy, but overall sees its values and issue positions more aligned with Democrats than Republicans. Abortion politics are decidedly more important than in the past for this group of voters, who regardless of their personal beliefs, solidly reject taking that right away from everybody else. And that includes Catholic and non-Catholic Christian Latinos.” 

Today’s poll was released as part of a multi-state, multi-year partnership between UnidosUS and Mi Familia Vota, which together represents the most powerful Latino civic engagement and democracy operation in the country. In 2022, UnidosUS and Mi Familia Vota will execute an extensive, $15 million civic engagement effort working with Hispanic voters in eight states: Arizona, California, Georgia, Florida, Nevada, Colorado, Pennsylvania, and Texas. Among other elements, this year’s campaign will include:  

  • Registering over 100,000 voters.  
  • Reaching out to a universe of nearly 2 million voters we connected with in 2020, with a specific focus on preventing voter drop-off from 2020.  
  • Providing research and data on the perspectives and priorities of Hispanic voters.  
  • Hosting candidate forums in multiple states with high profile statewide elections.  
  • Providing voters with information on policy issues and voting access.  

Significantly, the long-term partnership aims to break the boom-and-bust cycle of traditional electoral engagement, building sustained participation ecosystems that connect electoral engagement, policy advocacy, and community services, recognizing and building upon existing community assets and infrastructure. The two organizations will strengthen the connective tissue among those tracks between now and 2024.  

About the survey 

  • Total N=2,750 Latino eligible voters 
    • N=2,540 registered voters 
    • N=210 eligible, but not registered voters 
    • Margin of error +/- 1.9% 
  • Field dates: July 20 – August 1, 2022 
  • English or Spanish, according to preference 
  • Mixed mode: 75% online, 25% live telephone interviews. 

About UnidosUS  

UnidosUS, previously known as NCLR (National Council of La Raza), is the nation’s largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization. Through its unique combination of expert research, advocacy, programs, and an Affiliate Network of nearly 300 community-based organizations across the United States and Puerto Rico, UnidosUS simultaneously challenges the social, economic, and political barriers that affect Latinos at the national and local levels. For more than 50 years, UnidosUS has united communities and different groups seeking common ground through collaboration, and that share a desire to make our country stronger. For more information on UnidosUS, visit unidosus.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.   

About Mi Familia Vota  

Mi Familia Vota is a national civic engagement organization that unites Latino, immigrant, and allied communities to promote social and economic justice through citizenship workshops, voter registration, and voter participation. Mi Familia Vota has operations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, and Texas.