With polls now closed, one thing is clear: young Latino voters made their voices heard in this election.
Turnout among Latino voters ages 18 to 29 in Harris County tripled compared to the 2018 midterm elections, according to the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC).
For some young voters, casting a ballot was about more than their own future. They were also thinking about their families and the issues affecting their communities.
“Not a lot of Latinos want to speak up because they’re either afraid or they don’t want to show a lot of information about their backgrounds and stuff,” said Ashley Barahona, a University of Houston student studying education. “And as a Latina, I was born here, raised here, and we want those change.”
Barahona says immigration policies were among the reasons she decided to vote. She worries about what those policies could mean for her own family.
“I can talk for my family. I don’t want my dad to be deported if he’s innocent,” she said.
Dr. Sergio Lira with LULAC says those concerns helped motivate younger generations, particularly the children of immigrants who are watching how immigration policies affect their families.
“The children of immigrants who is seeing what’s happening to their aunts and their abuelos and their fathers simply just going to work. The terror, the fear, the trauma motivated them to come out like never before,” Lira said.
But Lira says immigration wasn’t the only issue driving Latino voters to the polls.
Homeownership, rising rents, property taxes and the cost of gas were also concerns, he said. Those issues, he adds, affect families trying to afford their homes, get to work and pay for college, regardless of their political affiliation.
LULAC reports nearly 1.8 million Hispanic voters cast ballots during early voting across Texas.
Now that the election is over, Lira says the increased participation sends a message to newly elected leaders: Latino voters should not be taken for granted. He says the community expects elected officials to address the issues that matter to them.
And he believes this could be just the beginning. As the Latino population continues to grow across Houston and Southeast Texas, the community could have an even greater influence on elections in the years ahead.
For Barahona, seeing more people in her community participate is something worth celebrating.
“I’m really, really proud for our community because we have really shown up,” she said.
