MILWAUKEE — We're now 4 weeks away from the midterm election and while we are following the races in our community very closely, we'll also be keeping an eye on Latino voters as this campaign hits the home stretch.
In the most recent NBC News/Telemundo poll, 54% of Latino voters say they prefer Democrats to control congress versus 33% who want Republicans in charge.
"Republican sentiment" is cutting into the democratic lead in congressional preference, now at 21-points, down four points from 2020.
If you dig further, you'll see a split in the Latino vote that is familiar. It's a political divide between urban-suburban and rural voters.
So even though Latinos prefer a democratic congress by 21-points overall, the advantage varies significantly depending on where you live.
"We at times then feel, I guess you can say helpless," Muskego Way Initiative Co-Coordinator Elizabeth Ramirez said.
Elizabeth is from the south side of Milwaukee but her roots lie in Mexico where she lived until she was five.
"For me, it's important to know who supports our community even though on paper we don't have that voice."
Near 16th and Forrest home, she spent time cleaning up the grass space to prepare for an event, pushing Latinos to vote.
"We have a very low voter turnout. There are a lot of registered voters but for some reason are not coming out to the polls."
As one of the leaders of Muskego Way Forward, she says there are obstacles that make voting complicated in the Latino community. One being the ability to vote.
"It's very dangerous to compare one person's story to another person's story because each person has their own path," Immigration Attorney Bridgette Kutschma said.
Bridgette works for the Soberalski Law Firm in Milwaukee. She says one requirement to cast your ballot is being a U.S. Citizen and having legal permanent residency.
In her words, the process is "messed up" with so many twists and turns.
"That process can take 1-2 years depending on where the person is, what the person's situation is, to 20 plus years."
Although Elizabeth pushes others to vote, she is unable to do so. She's a permanent resident but not a U.S. Citizen. With the help of Soberalski's attorneys, she's still going through the process.
She didn't have much luck. Many people said they were undocumented and are unable to vote.
"I feel like they just lost hope," Voces de la Frontera canvasser Deisy Espana said.
She also lives on the south side. Her interest sparked in politics a few years ago.
"I saw the fear that my parents had, my friends who are Daca recipients other undocumented folks, so I just knew I had to do something."
And she is doing 'something'. She's actually doing a lot.
At 20 years old Deisy goes door to door almost every day, hoping to drive Latinos to the polls.
I asked if she thinks the Latino vote could be the deciding factor.
"Oh for sure, the population grew from the last census to the recent census. It's crazy how much it's grown and a lot of people turned 18 this year."
As someone with undocumented parents, Deisy finds it extremely important to fight for the issues that matter to her like gun control, immigration, abortion, and education.
"My parents not being able to vote, but we are able to vote which means we are their voice and the voice of many immigrants who are not able to vote but are systematically disenfranchised."
"I was telling you a little bit about the problem I was having when I was out in the community. A lot of people who are undocumented didn't really want to talk about that. Do you think that's why?" I asked. "Kind of similar to your parents, they didn't want that spotlight?"
"Oh yeah for sure. I think regardless of how many years undocumented folks have been here there's always that fear."