SAN DIEGO — Super Tuesday is March 5 and new numbers show Latinos will turn up in record numbers.
According to projections from The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund, at least 4.8 million Latinos in California will cast their ballots this November, an increase of 6.1% from 2020 and 44.0% from 2016. The Latino share of all California voters in 2024 is expected to be 28.4%, which mirrors the Latino share in 2020 and is a 22.4% increase from 2016.
“As a citizen, we can make an impact in our country, so it's one of the things we can control ourselves,” said 18-year-old, Andrea.
"We've always had a lower voter turnout just because we've never been encouraged to vote and now that we have that right, I think it's important that we take advantage of it," said 19-year-old Yuliana.
Both acknowledge the importance of voting, saying they're proud to be part of the growing number of Latinos doing so.
"So, this means one out of four voters will be Latino in 2024," said Dorian Caal with NALEO Educational Fund.
Caal says one of the key factors for that increase is population growth, specifically those now old enough to vote.
“We know that Latinos are a younger community. So those that are turning of age, but are also citizens and are also eligible to register and vote is also increasing,” said Caal.
And it's not just in California, Caal says it's a trend nationwide.
“So Georgia, I think, is a great example, North Carolina, Oregon, certainly we know there is a large population in Florida, but even in places where we would consider battleground states, right in Nevada, where the population of Latinos not only continues to grow, but it has grown tremendously the last few decades," said Caal.
Because of this, Caal says Latinos have the power to impact elections, so it's important for campaigns to not only educate them on voting protocols, such as key dates and registration information, but also engage them on issues they care about most.
“The immigration system is not very well structured and there's a lot of flaws,” said Andrea.
“Definitely equality. Like lately, there's been a lot of issues in the LGBT community so making sure we're all just one community and definitely involving minorities that have been oppressed for so long. That's what's most important to me,” said Yuliana.
Watch Related: Why Latino voters are important for both parties in 2024 elections (Jan 15, 2024)