SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The number of eligible Latino voters in California has drastically changed in the last two decades. A new report by the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute shows nearly half of young eligible voters in the Golden State are Latino.
As the executive director for the California Center for Civic Participation, Clarissa Laguardia focuses on empowering youth to become civically engaged.
“Our mission is to activate, educate and mobilize youth to shape their own future,” said Laguardia.
Laguardia doesn’t only work with young voters during election years, she encourages them to have their voices heard in their communities and at the polls year-round.
“Showing up means that they are asserting their preference and opinions and not letting somebody decide for them,” added Laguardia.
According to the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, 40.8 million Gen Z voters will be eligible to vote in the fall, including 8.3 million newly eligible youth.
“If you look just at the youth vote — that’s voters that are ages 18-24 — Latino voters are actually half of those. So young Latina and Latino voters are a really big proportion of the electorate,” said Rodrigo Dominguez-Villegas, director of research at the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute.
California is home to the largest Latino population and the second-highest proportion of Latino eligible voters.
Dominguez-Villegas says there are about 8.2 million California Latinos that are eligible to vote, which is approximately 32% of the state’s electorate.
“That’s up from a little less than 4 million in 2000 and back in 2000, Latino voters represented 19% of the voter population, so it’s a pretty significant growth,” he said.
He notes most of the growth in California and throughout the nation are U.S. born Latinos are who turning 18.
“So, it’s really important for campaigns and organizations that are trying to increase participation that they go out and that they reach those Latino young voters.”
Dominguez-Villegas adds this bloc of voters can make a significant impact in many of the competitive congressional races in California that will help determine which political party controls the House of Representatives.
“Now the challenge is that regardless of race or ethnicity, young voters tend to participate less in elections,” he added.
When it comes to some of the main issues on top of young voters’ minds, Laguardia says climate change is a major one regardless of their race or political affiliation.
“The youth really care about equality, LGBTQ+ issues, mental health, homelessness,” she said.
Laguardia emphasized that while older generations are more split on issues, she’s noticed the youth is more united on what they want for their future.