How first time Latine voters are shaping local elections

In the weeks before the Nov. 5 elections, Eliana Rodriguez knocked on one door after another in her South Los Angeles neighborhood of Vermont Knolls, registering her neighbors to vote and letting them know what is at stake.

While so much of the conversation has been around the presidential election, she said, there are ballot measures and propositions that directly affect their community. Rodriguez, 19, tried to rally support for Measure A — a sales tax to assist the unhoused population — and to encourage her neighbors to vote against Proposition 36, which would increase punishment for certain drug or theft crimes.

But mostly, she wanted to encourage them to vote. As a first-time voter, she, too, found the process a “bit nerve-wracking.”

“When I looked at my ballot, I didn’t realize there’s so much to learn,” she said. “I was confused about certain propositions — it’s a little stressful because a lot is going on.”

As she searched for answers, she turned to her mother, studied material online and leaned on Community Coalition, a South L.A.-based nonprofit organization that Rodriguez has been a part of since her early teens.

Now, she’s working for the organization to help other first-time and occasional voters make sure their voices are heard in this election. And Rodriguez is not the only one.

Across Los Angeles County, a new generation of Latine community organizers have come of age and are ready to cast their ballots for the first time and help others do the same. Some said they feel called to action. They look around their communities and schools and want to make them better.

“Most of the time, our votes [in the presidential race] get overlooked, especially because we’re a densely populated state,” said Brianna Angulo, 20, of Pomona. “But I also think about how we have a direct influence or control over local politics.”

In 2019, Angulo joined Gente Organizada as a volunteer. Now, as an employee on staff, she is campaigning for Pomona Measure Y, a ballot measure that could redirect at least 10% of the city’s revenues to children’s programs and services.

Studies by the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute found that the number of Latino voters in L.A. County almost doubled to 2.6 million in 2022 from 1.4 million in 2000.

And when looking at the youth vote, which is defined as voters between the ages of 18 and 24, Latino voters represent 58.5%, said Rodrigo Dominguez-Villegas, who serves as institute’s director of research.

“What does that mean?” he said. “Latinos represent a lot more of the youth vote than the rest of the electorate in L.A. County.”

And as these younger voters become more civically engaged, it could help shape the city and its future.

According to polls conducted by the Latino Community Foundation, first-time or younger voters share the same concerns as older voters, including inflation, jobs, the economy, housing and abortion rights.

Yari Herrera, 33, said she’s not just voting for herself but others in her family. She was brought to the U.S. from Cuba as a kid. Her pathway to citizenship was a “battle,” with her application rejected in 2016 before she finally gained citizenship in August.

She’s the first person in her family to become an American citizen and to cast her ballot. She feels the weight of her vote.

“That means I have a voice they don’t have, so with my vote comes a lot of responsibility,” said Herrera, of Rosemead.

For the last decade, Herrera has worked at Chuco’s Youth Justice Coalition, trying to reimagine justice in her community. But she said voting is one of many steps in influencing the decisions made for our communities.

“Voting is not enough,” she said. “We have to continue organizing” and elect people who “represent us” and the issues that concern us.

“If we’re not organizing and telling them what we want — which is care first, ending mass incarceration, victim support services and youth development — [the elected officials are] going to do whatever they want.”

Several of the youth organizers said that they are looking for big systemic changes on immigration, U.S. involvement in the war in Gaza and housing security, and that they were not confident either presidential candidate would move the needle on those issues. But on the ground, in their communities, they feel they can have a real impact.

And at the top of mind for some young voters is housing affordability, said Benjamin Casar, associate director of Community Coalition’s youth programs.

“What young people are saying is, for us to have a successful academic journey, we need to know where we’re going to live on a day-to-day basis,” he said.

And some of the young people around him are drawing parallels among marginalized groups globally.

“It looks different but there’s still a war that’s taking place in communities of color like South Central,” he continued.

Sara Alvarez, a 19-year-old student at USC, said she grew up looking forward to voting.

“Since this is my first election, my vote feels crucial — it feels really big, and I’m voting for many family members,” she said.

In the presidential race, she’s planning to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris but admits she doesn’t feel 100% confident in Harris.

“But I know that with her being president, I would feel less stressed, less worried.”

When envisioning what the future could look like, Alvarez hopes “that I have access to reproductive rights in case I ever need it, and that every woman has the right to agency over their body,” she says. “I also hope it is not harder for my family members who are undocumented to live in this country.”

She hopes that by casting her ballot she’s fighting for those rights.

Back in South L.A., after a day of door knocking, Rodriguez settled into a cafe with a group of high school students. They shared what they heard from their neighbors and celebrated the new voters they registered.

Then they made plans for their next canvassing trip. There was more work to do.