MILWAUKEE—Get-Out-The- Vote campaign to turn out 11,500 more Latino voters in the November election kicked off this week. Speakers at the Cesar Chavez statue on Milwaukee’s south side highlighted the importance of Latina and Latino voters and included Ald. José Pérez, State Rep. JoCasta Zamarripa, Citizen Action of Wisconsin organizer Luz Sosa, and others.
“Latinx voters want a fair immigration system, affordable and accessible healthcare, a strong public education system and a strong and growing economy that creates good- paying jobs,” said Ald. Pérez. “If we turn out the vote, we can elect candidates who will reject the dystopian vision of building walls and closing borders, and instead move our country and state forward.”
“Our voting-age population is growing and activated,” said Rep. Zamarripa. “We are motivated by the attacks on our people, especially the unleashed racism that underlies some candidates’ support. Name-calling and body-shaming our Latina sister is just the latest example in what has been a horrific campaign unworthy of our great nation.”
Over the 2000 & 2004 presidential election cycles, Wisconsin was the closest state in the country. Polling shows close races for President and U.S. Senate in Wisconsin in 2016, and the large and growing Latinx population will play a key role in determining who wins in Wisconsin and nationally.
Groups like Citizen Action of Wisconsin and others are executing nonpartisan grassroots canvass campaigns, while LatinxVoice will reach out to voters through social, print, and broadcast media to emphasize the need to register and vote. Focused on Milwaukee, Racine, and other cities with significant Latino populations, nonpartisan campaigns will reach enough citizens to increase Latino turnout by 11,500 over 2012. Fewer than 11,500 votes separated the presidential candidates in Wisconsin in both the 2000 and 2004 elections.
