With just over 100 days until the November presidential election, political parties are racing to court key voting blocs including tens of thousands of Latinos in Michigan.
Currently, some 300,000 Latinos are eligible to vote in the state, but only 47% of them are registered to vote according to data from the Pew Research Center.
Diana Rivera, volunteer with the local nonprofit Latino Leaders for the Enhancement of Advocacy and Development, blames the lack of Latino participation on campaign’s poor follow through.
“The candidates will come, and they'll talk at events and say what they're going to do and don't do it,” Rivera said. “That holds true.”
Michigan is a battleground state, expected to help determine the outcome of November’s presidential election.
52-year-old registered Democrat Sonya Hernandez said there is an opportunity for parties to focus on energizing younger generation of Latinos.
“We cannot afford to let anyone sit out in November. We need everyone's vote to save our democracy,” she said.
In 2020 Joe Biden won the presidential election in Michigan by fewer than 200,000 votes. With more than 300,000 eligible Latino voters in the state, Hernandez says they could help Democrats win the state in 2024.
