VOCES: Latino Vote 2024

presidential election. In Nevada, a battleground state, Latinos are 1 in 5 registered voters, making them a sought after commodity. In early August, the powerful Culinary Union, which represents 60,000 hospitality workers in Las Vegas and Reno, more than half of whom are Latino, endorsed Harris.

In partnership with High Country News, we dive into what the Latino vote looks like in Yakima, Washington, a region where the number of Latinos has doubled since 1970, and as of 2020, where Latinos make up the majority. Through the reporting of journalist Natalia Mesa and photographer Roberto “Bear” Guerra, we will witness those working to increase representation of the Latino vote.

Keyanna Ortiz-Cedeño is an Afro-Latina voter and a UC Berkeley graduate based in the San Francisco Bay Area. As someone raised in rural Texas and has lived on both coasts, Ortiz-Cedeño reflects on the role of Afro-Latinos in a national conversation around the “Latino Vote.” With the first mixed-race Black woman running for president, she feels Afro-Latinos are a poorly understood voting bloc.

Marz Auto Central is a fixture of the predominantly Puerto Rican community in North Philadelphia. Marz is a spot for unfiltered conversation that is nonetheless respectful and playful. The shop has become something of a political forum for topics as wide-ranging as the economy, the election, and conspiracy theories. All the while, everyone is trying to make each other laugh.

Sitting at a crowded taquería, Jerry Reyes talks about the upcoming election, and describes what matters to him as a 24-year-old, first-time voter: he wants to “make money.” And while he concedes that he himself is a product of immigrants, he thinks it’s time to close the border. Jerry sells insurance, is a registered Republican, and is voting for Trump.

Back in 2020, when Francisco Chavero was 12 years old, he canvassed with his mother for Bernie Sanders in Nevada. Now at age 17, Francisco is looking forward to voting in two years time. He says he supports Democratic policies such as immigration reform, but agrees with Republicans when it comes to the economy. What does Francisco’s story reveal about the evolving dynamics of the youth vote?