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Title: The Future of Young Latino Voters in the South

Citation Type: Miscellaneous

Publication Year: 2016

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Abstract: In recent decades, the rapid growth of the Latino population has had a profound impact on Southern communities. It has spurred economic activity, changed the way schools educate students and sparked heated debates about immigration across the region. As the 2016 election season heats up, attention is shifting to another key area where Latinos are reshaping the South: the Southern electorate. Over the next two decades, the number of eligible Latino voters in the region will increase dramatically as today’s Latino youth — almost all of whom are U.S. citizens — turn 18 and become eligible to vote. By 2020, over 1.6 million Latino youth in the South* will age into the electorate. By 2024, if current trends hold, Southern states are projected to gain 3 million new Latino voters. The aging-in of young Latino voters living in the South presents a critical opportunity to expand Latinos’ electoral clout, which has not kept pace with the community’s growing numbers due to the citizenship status and young age of many Latinos in the region. With numbers trending towards growing electoral power for Latinos, the question becomes whether these new voters will be engaged and motivated enough to cast ballots in the South’s future elections.

Url: https://www.facingsouth.org/sites/default/files/Latino voters report_final.pdf

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Authors: Yee, Allie

Publisher: Institute for Southern Studies

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Other

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