4 reasons Latinos must vote in this election

Presidential candidates want the Latino vote, as this group has experienced the second-highest growth rate among major racial and ethnic groups in the US electorate since the previous general election.

The Latino vote is highly coveted by both presidential candidates, Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic Party and former President Donald Trump for the Republican Party.

It’s little surprise that the candidates want the Latino vote, since this group has experienced the second-highest growth rate among major racial and ethnic groups in the US electorate since the previous presidential election. An estimated 36.2 million Latinos are eligible to vote this year, an increase from 32.3 million in 2020. This accounts for 50% of the overall increase in eligible voters during this period, according to the Pew Research Center.

And it’s in Latinos best interest to vote. Here’s why:

Economy

Both Harris and Trump have made the economy a key focus of their campaigns.

Vice President Harris proposes to double the number of registered apprenticeships. She aims to emphasize her commitment to eliminating college degree requirements for specific federal jobs and encouraging private companies to follow suit. Additionally, Harris intends to offer forgivable loans of up to $20,000 each to one million small businesses.

She also has stated that her top priority from day one would be to lower food and housing costs for working families. She intends to implement a ban on price-gouging for groceries, assist first-time home buyers, and offer incentives to boost housing availability.

Although inflation surged during Biden’s presidency, partly due to post-COVID supply chain challenges and the conflict in Ukraine, it has since decreased. Nonetheless, the rising cost of living remains a significant concern for voters.

Trump has committed to “ending inflation and making America affordable again.” He has pledged to achieve lower interest rates, even though the president does not have direct control over interest rates, and argues that deporting undocumented immigrants will alleviate housing pressures.

While Trump attributes high inflation to the Biden-Harris administration, economists caution that his promise to impose higher taxes on imports could actually drive prices up.

Climate change

The Latino community has suffered the effects of climate change in many ways in recent years.

This year, whether in the US or Puerto Rico, Latinos have suffered the hottest summer in history, according to NASA.

August 2024 broke a new monthly temperature record, marking the end of Earth’s hottest summer since global records began in 1880, according to scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York.

Also, this year Florida was hit by two major hurricanes, causing billions in losses in areas heavily populated by Latinos.

The Biden-Harris administration passed the most significant climate legislation in US history. In this election cycle, Harris has outlined her strategy to address climate change and promote clean energy, highlighting a clear contrast with Trump’s plan to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and prioritize the interests of fossil fuel companies over climate policy.

Immigration

Although Puerto Ricans are American citizens, we cannot turn a blind eye to Trump’s treatment of the rest of Latin Americans during his presidency, in which he separated children from their parents.

This year the former president has stepped up his anti-immigrant rhetoric, even saying that immigrants are eating cats and dogs.

He has pledged to secure the border by finishing the wall’s construction and ramping up enforcement efforts. However, he encouraged Republicans to abandon a strict, bipartisan immigration bill supported by Harris. Additionally, he has vowed to carry out the largest mass deportation of undocumented immigrants in US history.

Harris was assigned the responsibility of addressing the root causes of the southern border crisis and played a role in securing billions in private funding for regional investments aimed at reducing migration. While record numbers of people crossed from Mexico in late 2023, those numbers have since decreased. In this campaign, she has adopted a firmer stance and highlighted her experience as a California prosecutor fighting human traffickers.

Abortion

Reproductive rights are one of the most important issues of this election, after the US Supreme Court announced in 2022 the official reversal of Roe v. Wade, revoking the constitutional right to abortion, which had been protected for nearly fifty years.

According to the League of Women Voters,  Latinas are statistically more likely to be impacted by abortion restrictions than their white counterparts. 

In the US, almost 6.7 million Latinas reside in the 26 states where abortion has been or is likely to be banned. This group makes up 43% of Latinas aged 15-49, making them one of the largest groups of women of color affected by current or upcoming abortion restrictions.

Harris has placed abortion rights at the forefront of her campaign, consistently pushing for laws that would protect reproductive rights across the country.

During her debate with Trump, one of her most compelling moments was when she shared stories of women impacted by increasingly limited access to abortion services.

Meanwhile, Trump has faced challenges in maintaining a clear stance on abortion, however, the three Supreme Court justices he appointed during his presidency played a crucial role in overturning Roe v. Wade.

RELATED: Hispanic women favor Kamala Harris, while men are more divided, poll shows