National Hispanic Heritage Month, Mobile Voting, and Our Future
September 15th marked the first day of National Hispanic Heritage Month and we at Mobile Voting are proud to join in the celebration honoring Hispanic American leaders, culture, and history. With a storied past and vast contributions to our country’s past and an undeniable impact on our nation’s future, it is vital that we take these moments to recognize the importance of the Hispanic American experience. Historically, Hispanic Americans have faced barriers to full citizenship and access to basic democratic rights, including access to the ballot box. That is why we are looking to the future and working to ensure Latino Americans have equal access to the ballot box through the addition of a Mobile Voting Option.
Historically Shut Out
Hispanic Americans’ impacts are woven into the fabric of our country’s history, all the way back to the founding of our nation. From aiding in our fight for independence against the British to earning a seat on the bench of the highest court in the land, Hispanic Americans stories are an essential part of American history. However, this crucial group of citizens have also faced tremendous barriers to the ballot box. For example, voters in Arizona were forced to take English literacy tests starting in 1909 that were to, in the words of politicians of the day, block the “ignorant Mexican vote.” White-only primaries, poll taxes, and other forms of voter suppression were implemented across the southern United States in an effort to help curtail the voices of minority voters, including those of Hispanic Americans. With the passage of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965, Hispanic Americans began to gain equal access to the ballot box.
But with the Shelby County v. Holder decision in 2013, which weakened the VRA by striking preclearance requirements in states with a history of racial discrimination, many of the protections in the VRA were effectively dismantled. Twenty-five states have passed laws since 2013 that have imposed new restrictions on voting, such as strict photo ID laws, cutbacks in early voting and vote-by-mail, and registration restrictions.
Many of these measures have had the effect of making it harder for Black and Hispanic voters to vote. In a 2020 poll about voting experiences, FiveThirtyEight found that 24 percent of Black respondents reported waiting in line for over an hour at polling places, and Hispanic respondents were more likely to report difficulties getting off work or trouble accessing a polling place. That is why we are fighting for a mobile voting option that can help ensure more Hispanic American voters are able to use their vote to create a more representative democracy.
Untapped Potential
Hispanic Americans are among the fastest growing voter groups in the United States. As of 2023, Hispanic Americans represented nearly 20% of our country’s total population. While Hispanic Americans voted at their highest rates in 2020, with 16.5 million or 54% of eligible voters, it still lags behind non-minority voting rates.
According to data from Pew Research, only 19% of Hispanic Americans voted in all three elections between 2018 to 2022 while 43% of white Americans voted in all three. 73% of white Americans voted in two of the three elections compared to only 52% of Hispanic Americans. These gaps in turnout lead to a government that does not accurately represent all of its citizens. Just nine percent of members of Congress are Hispanic, and only six percent of state legislators are Hispanic. We can address these disparities by closing these persistent turnout gaps and ensuring all eligible voters are able to successfully vote.
Mobile Voting & Hispanic Americans
The proliferation of smartphones has been a constant over the past decade, and more Americans have access to a smart device than ever before. We have a great opportunity to leverage the near-universal smartphone ownership, including 86% of Hispanic Americans, to simplify the voting process and ensure every American can cast a ballot. Adding a Mobile Voting option would help us meet voters where they are, minimizing barriers to the ballot box and ensuring every eligible voter is able to cast their ballot. Hispanic American voters would no longer need to get time off work in order to cast a ballot. (For more on how mobile voting can address barriers to voting, check out the paper we published last year.)
In order to save our democracy, we must continue the fight towards equal access to the ballot box and lowering barriers to voting. If we can close turnout gaps and ensure all voters, including Hispanic Americans, can access the ballot box, we can ensure our government truly represents all of the people.