The Harris and Trump campaigns both are ramping up their outreach to Latino communities, the fastest-growing voting block in the country. A national nonprofit is offering bilingual resources to combat misinformation.
Latino voters are critical for both presidential candidates – especially in battleground states like Nevada, Arizona, and Pennsylvania.
However, the rapid increase of outreach to Latino voters provides the opportunity for election misinformation to spread and discourage Latino voters from heading to the polls, said Juan Rosa, national director of civic engagement at NALEO (National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials)
“Latino community members usually lack access to timely and accurate information about electoral participation and other civic engagement processes such as for example, the US census and the naturalization process,” Rosa said.
In order to ensure voters of color are informed, the Election Protection Coalition has created an election protection hotline and other resources to provide assistance to voters.
“From the registration requirements in their states to the location of the poll sites to for example, what is on their ballot? The only thing that we don't do is of course, tell voters who to vote for. We don't do that. But we actually equip voters with everything they need to know about voting in their states, in their communities. How many days of early voting do they have? What are the hours for the early voting centers? What to keep in mind with the vote by mail ballot?” Rosa said .
The hotline is staffed by live bilingual operators year-round, trained to assist callers with any voting questions or issues.
To access this resource, voters can dial 1-888-839-8682 or text GoVote to 97779.
