LCLAA on the 2022 Midterms
Washington, DC - One thing is clear as we look at and analyze the results of the 2022 midterm elections. When labor invests in the education and mobilization of its members that investment creates the impact needed at the ballot boxes.
Hardworking men and women across the country entered this election cycle with huge concerns on their minds. At the top of that list was the economy. How do I put food on the table? How do I give my children the opportunity to expand their knowledge on a limited budget? With inflation at an all-time high, these concerns cannot be discounted. The prospect of recovery is uncertain, and we can see that as the results continue to arrive.
Latinos voted in waves this year, and that alone should be celebrated. It deserves recognition because we defied our circumstances. Since 2021, lawmakers have passed 42 restrictive voting laws in 21 states disenfranchising the Latino vote and despite making up over 18% of the American population, campaigns and political organizations ignore our communities and fail to invest in us.
Our turnout rate is the result of our own mobilization efforts. From Michigan to Nevada to Virginia, LCLAA members have phone banked, text banked, and canvassed their neighbors to push their communities to the polls. Our members have held registration drives and have created educational literature on new ballot measures.
The Latino turnout rate is a Latino accomplishment, and while the ballots are still being counted and as the country waits for the results of runoff elections, we must be sure that our momentum does not end here. As the labor movement instills into us, our voice is our greatest power and as we uphold our responsibility to mobilize our communities, it is our responsibility to hold our newly elected officials accountable - accountable to their promises, and accountable to their constituents.
This is the first day of the 2024 presidential election. We better understand the importance of not taking the Latino vote for granted and creating the pathway necessary to actively bring workers into the middle class as partners in the elections process.
