Leer en Español: Campaña Promueve el Voto Hispano

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A national nonprofit organization aims to increase the number of Hispanic voters participating in this November election. 

What You Need To Know

  • A nonprofit organization aims to increase Latino voter turnout

  • According to the Hispanic Federation, there are 400,000 eligible Latino voters but only 60% are registered

  • The group is registering people to vote at events around the community

The Hispanic Federation started the "La Voz de Mi Gente," or "My People’s Voice," campaign in North Carolina with that goal in mind. 

According to North Carolina State Board of Elections, Hispanics make up 3.7% of registered voters in the state. 

The group attends events and places where the community gathers to sign up eligible voters. 

North Carolina’s Civic Engagement Manager Maria Jose Taminez was at Charlotte’s Latin American Festival in September registering eligible voters.

“We like to meet people, meet Latinos where they are at,” Taminez said. 

She’s been involved with elections since she was a teenager.

“I’m an immigrant and I vividly remember when my parents were able to become eligible voters and how important that was for them,” Taminez said. 

Taminez enjoys being able to continue advocating for civic engagement with her role at Hispanic Federation.

“How cool to be able go into a ballot box, feeling empowered and proud of yourself to have a voice in your community,” Taminez said. 

The Hispanic Federation estimates 400,000 Latinos in North Carolina are eligible to vote but only 60% are registered.  

“Not only for us to get our voices heard but the Latino community is not a monolith. We are very different, we speak different dialects, we even have native tongues. Just making sure those types of people and cultures are able to be represented,” Taminez said. 

While the campaign focuses on registering Latino voters, the organization registers anyone eligible. 

During the event, registering voters in general is difficult. 

Taminez attributes the challenge to finding pockets of people who have not registered yet or people distrusting the system. 

Another circumstance she encounters is some Latino voters are not eligible to vote because they are not citizens. 

Hispanic Federation North Carolina and Mid-South Operations Director Larisa Garzón says there are other barriers as well. 

“A lot of people are in fear, if they live with someone who’s undocumented, they may be scared to register. The second thing is people don’t really know how our government works so many times they think it doesn’t matter if they vote or they don’t vote because they feel it wouldn’t make a difference,” Garzón said. 

The campaign aims to change this mentality with voter education and empowerment to head to the polls. 

“We are really creating the environment for people to learn the importance about voting and also make it something that they can pass to their children, that they can talk to their friends about,” Garzón said. 

The long-term goal for Taminez is to create voting habits.

“Once you start showing up and start voting, you will always keep showing up and keep voting,” Taminez said. 

After the voter registration period ends for the November elections, Hispanic Federation will follow up with registered voters to encourage them to head to the polls. 

In the past, they have also provided free rides on Election Day.