Considerations for 2020

If trends continue, we can even expect higher numbers of registered Latinx voters, and significant turnot from Latinxs in North Carolina in 2019 and 2020. Latinx teens currently make up 8.4 percent of those who have pre-registered (16-and-17 year olds, who will be eligible in 2020). In addition to the Latinx voters coming of age, North Carolina can anticipate more Latinx voters to emerge from in-country moves to North Carolina and from the naturalization process. But this trend toward greater engagement is not guaranteed — elimination of voting barriers, full Census participation, and well-resourced Latinx voter engagement efforts are necessary to realize the full political power of North Carolina’s Latinx voters.

Barriers to Latinx Voting

Ensuring that Latinx communities are able to access the ballot without barriers or intimidation is an ongoing challenge, and, if current laws remain unchanged, additional hurdles are set to go into effect before the 2020 election. These include:

Early Voting Changes that Limit Voting Access : The last Saturday has historically been the only weekend voting option in many counties, and an irreplaceable option for voters who are unable to vote during the work week. But as the result of a 2018 law, the final, high traffic, last Saturday of Early Voting will be eliminated in 2020. This same law imposed onerous, top-down hours requirements, which led 43 counties to reduce the number of Early Voting sites offered in 2018 because of increased costs. Early Voting is crucial for Latinx voters, 59 percent of whom cast ballots at Early Voting sites in 2016. 17 Proposals like House Bill 893 would repeal the worst parts of this law and restore Early Voting flexibility, including the last Saturday of Early Voting. The legislature should take immediate action to consider and approve this fix ahead of 2020. 18

: The last Saturday has historically been the only weekend voting option in many counties, and an irreplaceable option for voters who are unable to vote during the work week. But as the result of a 2018 law, the final, high traffic, last Saturday of Early Voting will be eliminated in 2020. This same law imposed onerous, top-down hours requirements, which led 43 counties to reduce the number of Early Voting sites offered in 2018 because of increased costs. Early Voting is crucial for Latinx voters, 59 percent of whom cast ballots at Early Voting sites in 2016. Proposals like House Bill 893 would repeal the worst parts of this law and restore Early Voting flexibility, including the last Saturday of Early Voting. The legislature should take immediate action to consider and approve this fix ahead of 2020. Possible Strict Photo ID Requirement : The state’s latest voter ID law was blocked from going into effect for the March 2020 Primary Election – but the fate of the law in the General Election is unknown. If the law does go into effect, it is expected to disproportionately impact Latinx voters, who make up 3 percent of registered voters overall, but 4 percent of voters without DMV-issued ID. 19 Democracy North Carolina opposes any form of voter ID law — but if the law does go into effect, the state legislature, State Board of Elections, and county Boards of Elections must do everything in their power to ensure that eligible voters are not disenfranchised by the law.

: The state’s latest voter ID law was blocked from going into effect for the March 2020 Primary Election – but the fate of the law in the General Election is unknown. If the law does go into effect, it is expected to disproportionately impact Latinx voters, who make up 3 percent of registered voters overall, but 4 percent of voters without DMV-issued ID. Democracy North Carolina opposes any form of voter ID law — but if the law does go into effect, the state legislature, State Board of Elections, and county Boards of Elections must do everything in their power to ensure that eligible voters are not disenfranchised by the law. Inadequate Language Access for Spanish-Dominant Latinxs: Currently, North Carolina is not required to provide information about voting in Spanish (or any other languages). As a result, the available Spanish-language voting materials are inconsistent from county to county and not created or updated as part of an intentional strategy for ensuring that monolingual Spanish speakers have full access to the voting process. Rather than continue with this piecemeal access, the State Board of Elections should adopt a statewide policy which establishes procedures for accurate, timely translations of written and online material, encourages publicity about elections and voting rules in Spanish-language media outlets, and improves poll worker cultural competence in serving voters whose preferred language is not English.

2020 Census and Latinx Voters

In addition to the presidential election, the next U.S. Census will also occur in 2020. The Census determines a wide range of outcomes in North Carolina and across the nation, from the apportionment of congressional districts to how federal dollars for education, health care, and highways are distributed to local communities. Because North Carolina has grown significantly since the last Census in 2010, we can expect to have more representatives in Congress after this Census. The challenge is ensuring that all of our communities are counted accurately, especially groups that have been undercounted in previous years, like Latinxs and children under 5. In June 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the Trump Administration’s addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 Census, holding that the Department of Commerce’s rationale for adding it was insufficient.20 The question was predicted to discourage Census participation, especially in Latinx communities, and in turn make the Census far less accurate. As of now the question will not be included the question will not be included, but advocates fear that its intimidating impact may remain. The attempt itself has made many people fearful that Census data may be used against them or their communities, despite federal laws which prohibit the Census Bureau from sharing information. For all questions and concerns about the 2020 Census, call 877-EL-CENSO (877-352-3676) for support in English and Spanish.

Engaging Latinx Voters

Early, deep investment across the full civic engagement spectrum — from registration and education to get-out-the-vote and voter protection efforts — is necessary to support meaningful Latinx turnout in 2020. A number of Latinx-led North Carolina organizations have been doing this critical civic engagement work in Latinx communities for multiple election cycles. (See p. 10 for examples of two such organizations and their 2018 voter engagement work.) Their continued, well-resourced efforts will be critical to encouraging high Latinx turnout in the elections to come.