Late in 2016, Hispanic Federation’s Civic Engagement team identified the 2018 Midterm Elections as a key priority for voter registration efforts in Latino communities throughout the United States. With the registration period closed in most states, it’s time to take stock.
Hispanic Federation holistic approach to voter mobilization uses a layered approach to engage individuals on a grassroots level, including voter registration, voter education, Get Out The Vote (GOTV), polling/“tertulias,” and communications activities.
In the critically important state of Florida, Hispanic Federation focused on recruiting voters in Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Lake, and Polk Counties. Thanks to the work of our team of 65 canvassers, we registered 27,343 new Latino voters in Central Florida. This is a historic number for us in the region.
“I couldn’t be prouder of our team,” said Hispanic Federation’s Florida State Director Betsy Franceschini. “They met voters in supermarkets, restaurants, and other community hubs, and helped them understand the electoral process, their civil and electoral rights as U.S. citizens and how voting impacts their lives and their community.”
Florida wasn’t the only place where Hispanic Federation was registering voters. In New York City, our Street Team Program enrolled 19,000 voters across the five boroughs by registering new citizens during naturalization ceremonies and hosting community events and voter registration phone-banks.
Finally, in Georgia, where voter suppression efforts have been especially strong this year, and where the Latino population is growing dramatically, our partnership with the Latino Community Fund allowed us to register and engage thousands of Latino voters just in time for Election Day.
