How Latin voters are influencing local elections for the first time

In the weeks leading up to the Nov. 5 election, Eliana Rodriguez knocked on door after door in her Vermont Knolls neighborhood in south Los Angeles, registering her neighbors to vote and letting them know what was at stake.

She said while much of the conversation is centered around the presidential election, there are policies and proposals that directly impact their community. 19-year-old Rodriguez tried to rally support Measure A — a sales tax to help the homeless population — and encourage neighbors to vote no Proposition 36which would increase penalties for certain drug or theft crimes.

But mostly she wanted to encourage them to vote. As a first-time voter, she also found the process “a little nerve-wracking.”

“When I looked at my ballot, I didn’t realize I had so much to learn,” she said. “I was confused by some of the proposals – it’s a little stressful because there’s a lot going on.”

Seeking answers, she turned to her mother, researched online and reached out to the Community Coalition, a South Los Angeles-based nonprofit that Rodriguez had been a member of since her early teens.

She now works for an organization to help other first-time and casual voters make sure their voices are heard this election. And Rodriguez isn’t the only one.

Across Los Angeles County, a new generation of Latino community organizers have come of age and are ready to vote for the first time and help others do the same. Some said they felt called to action. They look at their communities and schools and want to make them better.

“Most of the time our votes (in the presidential race) are ignored, especially because we’re a populous state,” said Brianna Angulo, 20, of Pomona. “But I also think about the fact that we have direct influence or control over local politics.”

In 2019, Angulo joined Gente Organizada as a volunteer. Now, as a staffer, she is campaigning for Pomona’s Measure Y, a ballot measure that could redirect at least 10% of the city’s revenue to children’s programs and services.

Research by the UCLA Institute of Latino and Policy Studies found that the number of Latino voters in Los Angeles County has nearly doubled to 2.6 million in 2022 from 1.4 million in 2000.

And when looking at the youth vote, defined as voters between the ages of 18 and 24, Latino voters make up 58.5%, said Rodrigo Dominguez-Villegas, who is the institute’s director of research.

“What does it mean?” – he said. “Hispanics represent a much larger portion of the youth vote than the rest of the Los Angeles County electorate.”

And as these young voters become more active in civic life, it could help shape the city and its future.

According to surveys conducted Hispanic Community Foundationfirst-time and younger voters share the same issues as older voters, including inflation, jobs, the economy, housing and abortion rights.

Yari Herrera, 33, said she is voting not only for herself, but also for other members of her family. She was brought to the United States from Cuba as a child. Her path to citizenship was a “battle,” with her application rejected in 2016 before she finally received citizenship in August.

She is the first person in her family to become an American citizen and vote. She feels the weight of her voice.

“It means I have a voice that they don’t, so my voice carries a lot of responsibility,” said Herrera, of Rosemead.

For the past ten years, Herrera has worked at Chuco Juvenile Justice Coalition, trying to reimagine justice in his community. But she said voting is one of many steps that influence decisions made in our communities.

“Voice is not enough,” she said. “We must continue to organize” and elect people who “represent us” and the issues we care about.

“If we don’t organize and tell them what we want — which is care first, an end to mass incarceration, victim support services and youth development — (elected officials) will do whatever they want.”

Some of the youth organizers said they expect big systemic changes on immigration, U.S. involvement in the Gaza war and housing security, and that they are not confident any presidential candidate will move the needle on those issues. But on the ground, in their communities, they feel they can make a real impact.

And for some young voters, housing affordability is a top priority, said Benjamin Casar, deputy director of youth programs for the Community Coalition.

“Young people say: For us to be successful in school, we need to know where we’re going to live every day,” he said.

And some young people around him draw parallels with marginalized groups around the world.

“Things look different, but there is still a war going on in communities of color like South Central,” he continued.

Sara Alvarez, a 19-year-old student at the University of Southern California, said she grew up looking forward to voting.

“Because this is my first election, my vote feels decisive — it feels really big, and I’m voting for a lot of family members,” she said.

In the presidential race, she plans to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris, but admits she doesn’t feel 100% confident in Harris.

“But I know that if she became president, I would feel less stress and anxiety.”

Imagining what the future might look like, Alvarez hopes that “I will have access to reproductive rights in case I ever need them, and that every woman has the right to control her own body,” she says. “I also hope that it doesn’t make it more difficult for my undocumented family members to live in this country.”

She hopes that by voting, she will fight for these rights.

Back in South Los Angeles, after a day of knocking on doors, Rodriguez settled into a café with a group of high school students. They shared what they heard from their neighbors and congratulated the new voters they registered.

They then made plans for their next campaign trip. There was still a lot of work to do.