LatinaLista — While Republicans still struggle over deciding whether Latino voters are really worth all the extra work, a new infographic should light a proverbial fire under their indecision.
The Center for American Progress and Progress 2050 compiled data to create a visual argument as to why the Latino vote will matter even more in the future. The bottom line is that the Latino population is still multiplying.
Over the next four years, “the number of eligible Latino voters is due to increase by more than 4 million people — 17 percent.” Nowhere is Latino political influence felt more strongly than when votes are cast in local and state elections.
According to the infographic, there are several key states where Latino voters can make a big difference — even help turn a Red State Blue.
In six states (Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, New Mexico and Texas), the percentage of Latino voters eligible to vote in upcoming presidential elections is more than half of eligible Latino voters. In states that are traditionally Republican, that amount of Latino voters could fulfill the swing vote prophecy yet again and, if current trends remain the same, namely majority of Latino voters vote Democrat, then it won’t be surprising to see those states turned politically upside down.
In the other states mentioned in the infographic that will come shy of having 50 percent of eligible Latino voters, like Nevada, Alabama or Virginia, Latino voters have been mobilized in those states to an extent that if they don’t have the votes for their candidate they are learning to work in other ways to make their voices strong and votes count.
So, if Republicans are still indecisive about Latinos, they should think twice before further ‘alienating’ a significant voting bloc of the future.
