THE POWER OF THE LATINO VOTE CAN BE TRANSFORMATIONAL

When more people participate in our electoral process, our democracy is stronger, and we are a more just and equal society. This is especially true when communities that have been historically or systemically disenfranchised are able to participate as voters, as candidates and officeholders, and as influencers and advocates for social change.

Over the past 26 years, the size of the Latino electorate has grown significantly in California and our voting power is transforming the Golden State. Most everywhere, any Californian vying for local, state or federal office must try to understand and effectively speak to their Latino constituents’ struggles and aspirations. This was not always the case.

California was a reliably Republican-leaning state until 1994, when passage of Proposition 187 mobilized a generation of Latino voters. Stoking resentment of immigrants, Gov. Pete Wilson, a Republican, ran for reelection as a champion of Proposition 187, which sought to deny public education, health care and other social services for undocumented people. That was followed in 1996 by Proposition 209, which banned affirmative action; and in 1998 by Proposition 227, which curtailed bilingual education. Proposition 187 was ruled unconstitutional and never implemented. It’s widely acknowledged that Latino mobilization against the measure transformed California politics from reliably red to boldly blue.

Community organizations and some labor unions with large Latino constituencies built the infrastructure, made long-term investments across several election cycles, and centered the advancement of Latino/a leaders to bring about partisan political change. After years of organizing, California Latinos are today a potent political force. And Latinos are getting elected to all levels of government by voters of diverse backgrounds, broadening and deepening our strategic influence and clout across the state.

There are now 1,640 Latino/a elected officials serving in local, regional and statewide offices throughout California, according to the National Association of Latina/o Elected Officials. Among them are Secretary of State Alex Padilla, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, Attorney General Xavier Becerra and state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond.

In San Diego County, three of the largest cities are led by Latino/a mayors. And Nora Vargas, a Latina, was just elected to the county Board of Supervisors — the first woman of color and first immigrant to hold the office.

But Latinos are not a monolithic voting bloc. Our political interests and influences are as diverse as our cuisines. As was so aptly demonstrated in the 2020 presi

dential election, Cuban Americans in Florida vote differently from Mexican Americans in California. And within our region’s Latino electorate, there are differing political perspectives as well.

Politicians, pollsters and pundits routinely opine on if and how Latinos will vote, yet tend to overlook important nuances such as age, gender, education, class and ZIP code that factor into Latino voting behavior — just as with any other constituency. The campaign that cannot connect with Latinos and effectively articulate the intersecting issues that resonate with our shared values will fail to mobilize us as voters.

With a few exceptions, California leads the nation in advancing socially progressive policies (most recently, voters rejected Proposition 16 to reinstate affirmative action; only 10 states currently ban this policy as a means of achieving equal access and opportunity). Without question, forward leaning Latinos and our ever-increasing share of the California electorate are hugely influential in this trend.

Given our greater clout, Latino voters have a greater responsibility to advance social equity on behalf of all Californians. We’ve seen this in Latinoled grassroots efforts to expand rights and protections for domestic workers that played a key role in increasing the state’s minimum wage. Increasingly, the Latino community is weighing in on biased policing, education equity, housing equity, LGBTQ rights, women’s rights and anti-black racism as these issues concern us, too. And it is incumbent upon Latino leaders to deepen investments in building a more participatory electorate.

As Cesar Chavez said, “We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community. Our ambitions must be broad enough to include the aspirations and needs of others, for their sake and for our own.”

The Latino electorate is richly diverse with complex voting attitudes. In California, Latino voters have shared a legacy of transformational dissent via the ballot box. We must therefore reject systems of inequity and exclusion. We must align with other historically and systemically marginalized groups to ensure that “We the People” truly means all of us. Sí, se puede!