Voto Latino Announces $500,000 Donation From Mike Bloomberg to Support Effort to Mobilize One Million Latinx Voters to the Polls
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Danny Turkel, danny@c3.votolatino.org
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Voto Latino announced a $500,000 donation from Mike Bloomberg that will help fund its efforts to register 500,000 new voters this election cycle. This investment will support efforts to enfranchise one million young Latinx voters across Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Wisconsin, among other key states come November.
Running a first-of-its-kind, aggressive, digital voter registration program during the primaries, Voto Latino is on its way to meeting its goal. It has registered more than 81,000 citizens, provided 13,000 rides to the polls, and made more than 88,000 voter contacts to date. Seventy five percent of those registered are between 18 to 34 years olds. This $500,00 donation will go directly towards Voto Latino’s efforts to expand the electoral base. The organization has set a goal of registering half a million new voters this year and mobilizing one million low propensity voters by Election Day 2020.
“Four million young people who heard the president call their loved ones criminals and rapists have come of age since those terrible remarks and will be eligible to cast a vote for the very first time this November. Bloomberg’s investment allows Voto Latino to further educate, engage and empower the Latinx community to register to vote and turn out to the polls,” said Maria Teresa Kumar, President and CEO of Voto Latino. “This election will be a referendum on the politics of hate and divisiveness. Latinx voters will make up the second-largest voting bloc for the first time in US history and they will cast their ballots in November to protect their community. Our democracy is only as strong as our participation within it. We welcome Bloomberg’s partnership in this fight.”
“President Trump has spent four years attacking and slandering Latino communities, but in November, Latinos will have a chance to make their voices heard,” said Mike Bloomberg. “We need to make sure that Latinos who are eligible to vote are registered and that we get them to the polls – and I’m supporting Voto Latino to help achieve both goals. Voto Latino – along with other voter registration and protection groups I’m supporting, including Collective Future and Fair Fight – will play a critical role in the November election, and the voters they mobilize could prove to be the difference in races up and down the ballot.”
Voto Latino runs voter registration programs at scale and turns them out to the polls. In 2018, it registered over 202,000 voters – 77% who cast a vote, including 15% of all new voters in Texas.
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Voto Latino is a grassroots political organization focused on educating and empowering a new generation of Latinx voters, as well as creating a more robust and inclusive democracy. Through innovative digital campaigns, culturally relevant programs and authentic voices, we shepherd the Latinx community towards full realization of its political power.