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

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 Pennsylvania’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.  
• For the first time, abortion is among the top five issues, and 73% of Pennsylvania’s Latino voters believe it 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 Pennsylvania’s Latino voters (56%) believe the country is on the wrong track. At the moment, 61% of Hispanic voters in Pennsylvania say they are 100 percent certain they will vote in November. 
• Overall, 83% of Pennsylvania’s Latino voters say it is personally important to them (63% 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.  

Rafael Collazo, UnidosUS National Political Director said: 

“As a native Pennsylvanian, this poll clearly shows that Latino voters in the Keystone State are engaged and will be a significant voting bloc in this year’s midterms. Latino leaders and organizations in the state have been engaging this community for years to lay the groundwork, now the candidates must do the work in a respectful and authentic way.” 

Irving Zavaleta, National Programs Manager, Mi Familia Vota said: 

“Latinos in Pennsylvania are paying attention to the midterms, with 61% saying they are 100% certain to vote in November. But that number leaves a lot of room for growth. Latino voters’ interest in participating in the midterms is not a guarantee of voter turnout. To turn out Latino voters, both parties must invest in reaching our community like they would any other valued constituency.” 

Gary Segura, Founding Partner and President, BSP Research said:   

“The results from Pennsylvania speak to the pivotal importance this rapidly growing community is likely to have in important policy debates and very close elections.  Parties and candidates better pay 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 with in 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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