The Latino Millennial Voice

Earlier this summer, a friend of mine John Rudolph launched the mobile application Unidos. Unidos is a virtual tool that targets the sizable population of Latino millennials in America, the largest population of non voters between the ages of 18 and 27 of any ethnicity. John’s work with Unidos got me thinking. So I did some research and came across some alarming demographics.

Many things come as a surprise when we talk about the upcoming election, but the significance of one statistic spans nationally and could determine our country’s future. Only 44 percent of Latin Americans in our generation say that they are planning to vote in the 2016 presidential election. Polls show that young Latin Americans do have strong opinions about political topics such as LGBTQ rights, women’s rights, and the rights of immigrants, but are so suppressed by certain parties that many feel “sitting it out” is a safer option.

So many people our age omit their votes, and I think it’s about time we fix that.

Here are the facts: 800,000 Latin Americans turn voting age (18) every year, which means that there are nearly 3.2 million new eligible Latino voters since the last election. Of these people, nine out of ten are legal U.S. citizens, a key stipulation which allows them to vote. Less than half of these people plan on voting, leaving a total of 13 million eligible voters out of the polls. In Florida alone, it is estimated that if all of the eligible, young Puerto Rican immigrants who aren’t planning on voting actually cast a ballot, it is possible for the entire outcome of the election to shift.

I believe that the Latino voice in this election is incredibly important. I don’t say this in promotion of a certain party, I say this as an American who believes in the democracy that our founders constructed. It is a system that has worked for hundreds of years that is based on the needs and concerns of the people, and right now that design it is not living up to its profile as long as such a sizable portion of our population is being silenced.

So I reach out to my peers in hope of spreading an important message, and I understand that Exeter is not be the most relevant audience since we are all educated and opinionated young individuals, but it is still our job to try to sway the tendencies of our generation to a more favorable and equal outcome. It is the time of year when the big election day is begins to creep closer and closer - this is when it counts. Those of you who can and don’t plan on voting, consider how that choice may encourage those around you to make the same decision.

This is our future that we are talking about. This president will carry us into college, to our first jobs, and into the beginning our professional careers. He or she will be making the decisions for our country that will determine the health of its citizens, the environment we will grow up in, and one day the wellbeing of our families. It is therefore imperative that the leader who is selected has been somewhat influenced by the voice of our generation, by us, by what we want for ourselves and the future. We must see this election as a long term decision that will lay the groundwork for us later on, rather than an immediate solution to our problems. So many people our age omit their votes, and I think it’s about time we fix that.

So go check out Unidos, go inform yourselves, and go get some opinions. We have a voice, people! Let’s use it!