Here’s the reality of Latino political power today: It’s not what it could be.

Even though 27 million Latinos will be eligible to cast a ballot in November — an increase of 17 percent since 2012 — the Latino population is becoming more distant from the American political process, according to a new report from the Pew Research Center.

Most Latinos who could vote in the last three national elections chose not to. Turnout was just under 50 percent in 2008, and fell to 48 percent in 2012. It dropped to 27 percent in the 2014 midterms, the lowest rate ever recorded for Latinos.

Another low yield may define 2016 as well.

“We’re seeing the number of people who could vote growing at a faster pace than those who do vote,” said Mark Hugo Lopez, director of Hispanic research at Pew Research Center. “There were more nonvoters than voters in the last election, and those nonvoter numbers are rising.”

The lack of engagement is not new; Latino voter turnout has lagged behind that of whites and blacks for decades. Asian-American voter turnout has also been below black and white turnout since at least 1992; it was even with Latino voter turnout in 2012.