Two key groups launch Latino voter turnout operation in South Texas

Latino voters are upset about the cost of living and immigration enforcement operations, according to polls and interviews. Whether they actually show up to vote in November — and in what numbers — is another question.

Getting Latinos to the polls next month is a central push of two of the largest Latino advocacy organizations in the country, the Voto Latino Foundation and the Hispanic Federation, according to plans first shared with NBC News. This week, the groups are launching a six-figure get-out-the-vote operation that specifically targets Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, where they estimate that nearly 316,000 Latinos who could vote did not participate in the 2024 election.

In 2024, Latino voters in the Valley made history when a majority backed Donald Trump. Since then, many key figures have come out opposing Trump’s policies, including his economic plans and how the administration is carrying out deportations.

In addition to those who sat out in 2024, the advocacy groups say nearly 500,000 Texas Latinos have turned 18 in the last two years and are now eligible to vote.

On Saturday, the groups will host a community town hall in Edinburg called “Juntos en el 956,” where organizers will assist residents with making plans to vote and answer questions. Claudia Lopez, a social media personality in the Rio Grande Valley who focuses on South Texas politics, will moderate the town hall. Another televised town hall will follow in cooperation with Telemundo, and an end-of-the-month rally to promote voter turnout is in the works.

Frankie Miranda, president and CEO of the Hispanic Federation, said he believes educating Latinos about their voting rights and hearing their concerns is central to improving turnout.

“When we do this right, we are going to see a correlation in the participation of Latinos on Election Day,” Miranda said.

Talking to voters, he said, the group will encourage people to vote early and, for those already registered to vote, to check ahead of time that nothing happened with their registrations.

“In many places, there have been attempts to try to push people out of the voter rolls, to try to question some of the data,” he said. “We want to make sure that people are prepared, that people know exactly what to do when they get to the polls, whether their name is there or their name is not there.”

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María Teresa Kumar, president and co-founder of the Voto Latino Foundation, said part of its job is to make sure people understand the electoral significance of the Valley.

“It is going to be the epicenter of the Latino vote for the rest of the country. If the Latino vote in this area swings drastically back to the Democratic side, not only is it going to be indicative of where the Latino vote is today, but it is going to be the beginning of a building block of what people can expect in ’28,” she said. “Our focus is to get people really informed, making sure that they turn out.”

An NBC News/Telemundo survey of 800 registered Latino voters nationally showed Trump with 69% disapproval among respondents, and 54% said they intended their midterm votes to signal opposition to him.

Latinos in Texas, however, are historically underrepresented at the polls.

Kumar said that among the messages to voters is to vote early.

“It inoculates you; it’s hard for people to say anybody cheated, but No. 2, it also gives people the courage to go ahead and vote, too, because they see their neighbors doing it,” she said.