MILWAUKEE — Maria Avila and other volunteers with the League of Women Voters' Comité por El Voto Latino are on a mission to reach out to Latino voters ahead of the 2024 Presidential Election.
"We're out to register every eligible voter on the south side of Milwaukee, and most of them are Latinos," said Avila. "Our motto is 'su voto es su voz.'"
"Your voice is your vote." That's the message these volunteers share as they host voter outreach events to connect eligible voters with resources.
Latinos make up Wisconsin's largest minority group. According to U.S. Census data, there are roughly 153,000 Latinos in Milwaukee County. That's more than 40% of the state's Latino population.
Watch: Local woman on a mission to register everyone eligible to vote on the south side:
"In the Latino community, there are a number of handicaps," said Eloisa Gomez, Comité por El Voto Latino volunteer. "What we're seeing is that there is still not enough bilingual information available to people."
Beyond sharing more information in Spanish, offering context, and navigating a lack of representation in campaigns are other challenges.
"We don’t see our brown faces or all the colors that Latinos come in—we don't see the positive message. I'm a voter, 'Sí Se Puede,' or 'Mi voto es mi voz.' We're not quite seeing that out there, so I don’t think that strong message that we are empowered to vote is out there," Gomez said.
That’s why the local committee is pushing the entire community to encourage Latino-American neighbors to feel empowered to vote.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
