UnidosUS, Mi Familia Vota Discuss New Polling Results That Outline the Priorities of Florida’s Hispanic Voters

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Results Represent Major Shift In Salient Issues To Latino Voters 

WASHINGTON, DC – UnidosUS, the nation’s largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization, and Mi Familia Vota, a national civic engagement organization, today held a briefing to outline the priorities of Florida’s Hispanic voters. The results show a significant shift in some of the top issues among Latino voters: 

  • Inflation and jobs are the #1 and #3 priorities, findings that track with long-standing Latino concerns about the economy. Health care is the fourth priority. 
  • Notably, crime/gun violence rose to #2, driven by concerns about easy access to guns and school shootings.  
  • Abortion has become more salient. 70% of Florida’s Latino voters believe abortion should remain legal, no matter their own personal beliefs on the issue. 
  • While immigration is not among the top five issues, Latino voters believe strongly that leaders in Washington should provide a path to citizenship, or in the absence of Congressional action, the president should take executive action. 
  • A majority of Florida’s Latino voters (64%) believe the country is on the wrong track. At the moment, 67% of Hispanic voters in Florida say they are 100 percent certain they will vote in November. 
  • Overall, 80% of Florida’s Latino voters say it is personally important to them (54% very important) for elected officials and other leaders to speak out against white nationalism and white supremacy 

You can view a more in-depth deck outlining topline results here, and a chart with Latino voter data in competitive districts here. 


Jared Nordlund, UnidosUS Florida State Director said: 

 “Hispanic voters in Florida overwhelming are concerned with pocketbook and economic issues as we get closer to the midterm election, while at the same time, they are also in favor of expanding Medicaid to hundreds of thousands of tax-paying Floridians who would be eligible to receive health care relief. These same voters have also sent a clear message that candidates who want to advance anti-immigrant policies, are supported by white supremacists and nationalists, and support a complete ban on abortions do not share their values.” 


Soraya Marquez, Mi Familia Vota Florida State Director said: 

“Mi Familia Vota is committed to building Latino political power. We know that for Florida to prosper, our community must thrive, engage and vote. This poll gives a clear picture of the policy priorities of Florida Latinos. We will ensure they are registered and civically educated and hold politicians accountable to our policy priorities in November! 

One thing from the poll that we see in Florida is how climate change has become critically important to the Latino community here. Mi Familia Vota is educating our community on the causes and consequences of global warming.  We are working to create consciousness about our planet. We are working in public schools to develop awareness around the conditions of the planet. We do this to build greater civic engagement in our community; we know that the environment is on the ballot in November. If Latinos vote during every election, we are making our democracy stronger.” 


Gary Segura, Ph.D., President and co-founder of BSP Research said: 

“Florida is often the location where changes are first visible in the Latino electorate and provides an important counterpoint to trends in California and elsewhere. How Latinos evolve as a bloc and electorate in Florida may well shape outcomes nationally. Both parties should be paying closer attention.” 


The poll was released as part of a multi-state, multi-year partnership between UnidosUS and Mi Familia Vota, which together represents the most powerful Latino civic engagement and democracy operation in the country. In 2022, UnidosUS and Mi Familia Vota will execute an extensive, $15 million civic engagement effort working with Hispanic voters in eight states: Arizona, California, Georgia, Florida, Nevada, Colorado, Pennsylvania, and Texas. Among other elements, this year’s campaign will include:  

  • Registering over 100,000 voters.  
  • Reaching out to a universe of nearly 2 million voters we connected within 2020, with a specific focus on preventing voter drop-off from 2020.  
  • Providing research and data on the perspectives and priorities of Hispanic voters.  
  • Hosting candidate forums in multiple states with high-profile statewide elections.  
  • Providing voters with information on policy issues and voting access.  

Significantly, the long-term partnership aims to break the boom-and-bust cycle of traditional electoral engagement, building sustained participation ecosystems that connect electoral engagement, policy advocacy, and community services, recognizing and building upon existing community assets and infrastructure. The two organizations will strengthen the connective tissue among those tracks between now and 2024.  


About the survey 

  • Total N=2,750 Latino eligible voters 
  • N=2,540 registered voters 
  • N=210 eligible, but not registered voters 
  • Margin of error +/- 1.9% 
  • Field dates: July 20 – August 1, 2022 
  • English or Spanish, according to preference 
  • Mixed mode: 75% online, 25% live telephone interviews.


About UnidosUS  

UnidosUS, previously known as NCLR (National Council of La Raza), is the nation’s largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization. Through its unique combination of expert research, advocacy, programs, and an Affiliate Network of nearly 300 community-based organizations across the United States and Puerto Rico, UnidosUS simultaneously challenges the social, economic, and political barriers that affect Latinos at the national and local levels. For more than 50 years, UnidosUS has united communities and different groups seeking common ground through collaboration, and that share a desire to make our country stronger. For more information on UnidosUS, visit unidosus.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.   

  

About Mi Familia Vota  

Mi Familia Vota is a national civic engagement organization that unites Latino, immigrant, and allied communities to promote social and economic justice through citizenship workshops, voter registration, and voter participation. Mi Familia Vota has operations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, and Texas.  

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