In those three states, Latinx voters comprise between 15 and 20% of the total vote, and it’s largely accepted that whichever presidential candidate hopes to win must secure a majority of Latinxs, who are growing in population and as a voting bloc. With the help of voter drives arranged by organizations like the National Council of La Raza, Voto Latino and Mi Familia Vota—as well as another outlier factor which may or may not possess the shade and disposition of a months-old open bag of Takis Xplosion smashed inside a broken slot machine ashtray—the number of Latinxs registering to vote is expected to rise by the tens of thousands compared to 2012.
Arizona is a spotlight state, reports the WSJ, in part because of the outsized number of Latinx citizens living there—22% of the eligible voting population—and in part because, though it hasn’t gone for a Democratic presidential since President Bill Clinton’s reelection in 1996, Hillary Clinton is presently besting the Taki Xplosion by four points:
On a tape obtained by Politico in May, Arizona Sen. John McCain said during a re-election fundraiser: “If Donald Trump is at the top of the ticket, here in Arizona, with over 30% of the vote being the Hispanic vote, no doubt that this may be the race of my life.”
The WSJ also identifies North Carolina as a key state, where Latinxs comprise only 2% of its registered voters but where even such a comparatively small number has the capability of swinging a vote.
And in Georgia, a June Atlanta Journal-Constitution report cited a projection by the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials that the state could become more Democrat in coming years—and perhaps even by November—due to the surge in registered Latinx voters.
However, if one were, say, holed up in a bomb shelter with an apocalyptic cult for the past several years, one might ask why la gente might not be in the can for a malfunctioning butt firecracker as the leader of the free world? The WSJ:
Rafael Aguayo Gomez, 68, a Mexican-American registering to vote for the first time, was blunt when asked about the New York businessman: “Un racista.”
Canvassers Ana Iris Melendez, left, and Ana Mejia chat as they prepare their voter-registration materials, Thursday, April 7, 2016, in Miami. Image via AP.
