According to Pew Research, Latino voters nationally are projected to account for nearly 15 percent of all eligible voters in November, a new high. The number of eligible Latino voters in Illinois is also growing and has the potential to make a big impact.
"There is tremendous potential political power that has not yet been fully realized," said Sylvia Puente, president and CEO of the Latino Policy Forum.
The Chicago-based advocacy group published an analysis from U.S. Census data showing how state voting participation has changed among racial groups. Between 2010 and 2022 the number of eligible Latino voters in Illinois increased by more than 423,000, while the number of white and Black eligible voters in our state decreased. It also shows eligible Asian voters in Illinois increased by about 41,000. White eligible voters decreased by more than 437,000 and Black eligible voters by about 41,000.
Census data also shows eligible Latino voters in general are younger than other voting groups. Nearly 75 percent of Latino voters in Illinois are under 55. And around 30,000 turn 18 every year, Puente noted.
So what does this growing demographic of voters mean come Election Day? That depends.
Voter participation tends to lag among both young people and Latinos. Take Chicago's mayoral election: Just 21 percent of registered Latino voters went to the polls compared to 61 percent of white voters in Chicago.
"We're young Latino voters. There's a lot of us. We have a voice," said Evelyn Aguayo, who is working to make that voice heard come November.
Aguayo became politically active as a teen. This will be the second presidential election she'll vote in, and she's making it her mission to get other young people to the polls.
Part of her work with the South Side non-profit "Increase The Peace" is canvassing around South and Southwest side neighborhoods in the city.
"I think there's a good amount of Latino youth that are voting and are politically involved, but then there's those that aren't," Aguayo said.
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Face-to-face conversations with young people and outreach events is how Aguayo and her team believe they make an impact, particularly in neighborhoods where they live and work, like Aguayo's neighborhood, Back of the Yards.
As a youth instructor for afterschool programming, she starts conversations with people where they're at, and it's usually issues-based.
"I always tell them, if you want something to change in your community, in order to do that you have to vote," Aguayo told NBC Chicago.
Illinois Congressman Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, who is running to keep his seat in the 4th Congressional District, said empowering Latino voters has been gradual compared to other ethnic or racial groups.
"In particular the African American community, which is a lot more conscious of the struggle for the right to vote," Garcia said.
"We're the new kids on the block in many respects," he told NBC Chicago. "The only challenge that we have is that we need to accelerate our participation."
Part of getting young Latino voters to the polls is convincing them their vote matters and that a certain candidate or party's platform aligns with their values. And that requires outreach from national campaigns, something that isn't happening as much as it should, Puente said.
An August 2024 survey from Latino-owned BSP research shows the Harris-Walz campaign has a strong lead among likely Latino voters nationwide over the Trump-Vance campaign, 27 points. However that same survey shows 55 percent of respondents had not heard from either major campaign.
"There's less investment by either of the federal campaigns, Harris or Trump, to come and spend a lot of dollars," Puente told NBC Chicago about Illinois, which is considered solidly blue.
It's why she believes local and state elected officials have a real responsibility to reach out to the community, something both national campaigns are likely banking on.
When it comes to what Latino voters and specifically young Latino voters care about, it's a range. Anecdotally, Aguayo said the youth she works with are worried about the climate, access to education and the ability to afford housing.
That same BSP survey, which spoke to around 3,000 likely Latino voters in several states between Aug. 5 and Aug. 23, found the top issues on their mind are inflation, jobs and the economy, lack of affordable housing, and healthcare.
"It's those bread-and-butter issues," Puente said. Those rank high among all voting blocs. Immigration and citizenship issues tend to be secondary priorities for Latino voters after economic concerns.
"One thing that I think has made a difference is that we now have two congressional districts that are close to majority or majority Latino," Puente said about Illinois.
This summer Aguayo and her team reached about 1,200 people through canvassing and outreach events, however they don't track how many of those individuals actually registered to vote. They're planning several outreach events and canvassing leading up to November.
Early voting in Illinois began Sept. 26 for nearby counties around the Chicago area.
Early voting in Cook County began Oct. 9 and early voting in the City of Chicago began Oct. 3.
