EP142: Breaking down the Latino electorate with Clarissa Martínez De Castro, Vice President of the Latino Vote Initiative at UnidosUS — Election 2024 series, part two of two

In The Margins

Tune in as Clarissa Martínez De Castro, Vice President of the Latino Vote Initiative at UnidosUS, discusses the need for accurate information and education to ensure full election participation and encourage eligible Latino voters to register to vote.

Committed to strengthening civil society, De Castro spearheads initiatives that emphasize the significance of ongoing, year-round voter empowerment and engagement efforts. She highlights the importance of voter registration and turnout among Latino youth.

Join in as she, along with Diverse host Ralph Newell, take a deep look at how the Latino Vote Initiative works to increase civic engagement and voter registration among Latino communities — registering 150,000 voters by the end of the cycle. Despite being a significant voting bloc, De Castro shares that Latinos often face voter suppression and lack of outreach challenges.

This discussion is part-two of our Election 2024 two-part series. In part-one we looked at Voter Suppression and the Importance of Minoritized Youth Voting in the United States with Dr. Carol Anderson.

KEY POINTS:

- The Latino Vote Initiative seeks to increase understanding and empower communities in the electoral process.

- 8 out of 10 Latinos in the U.S. are citizens, and 9 out of 10 under age 18 are citizens, dispelling common misconceptions.

- The initiative is driving voter registration efforts, including digital outreach to over 150,000 new Latino voters.

- A key focus is educating first-time and young Latino voters on their rights and voting options.

- Voter suppression tactics, such as false immigration voting claims and voter purges, present challenges for Latino voters.

- Economic concerns like cost of living, jobs, and healthcare are top priorities for Latino voters.

- Lack of outreach from politicians and political parties has contributed to apathy among young Latino voters.

QUOTABLES:

"The reality is that the majority of Latinos in this country are United States citizens. Eight out of 10 Latinos are United States citizens." – Clarissa Martínez De Castro

“The work we do on the agency side —- registration, education, and get out the vote, and then on the narrative side – an accurate understanding of these voters. We do very robust polling.” – Clarissa Martínez De Castro

GUEST RESOURCES:

Clarissa Martínez De Castro

UnidosUS - Latino civil rights and advocacy

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Closed captioning and a live show transcription are available in the video for this episode.

In The Margins is produced by Diverse: Issues In Higher Education and edited by EPYC Media Network (visit at https://www.epyc.co/).