A recent article published by the Philadelphia Inquirer, entitled “Latino voter turnout dropped sharply in Pa’s midterm election,” Latino voter turnout dropped in Pennsylvania’s 2022 midterm election results (inquirer.com) to me, lacks a thorough analysis of the low voter participation of Latinos in our elections.
This reflects the corporate English language media’s relationship with Pennsylvania citizens of Latino descent. In this challenging time of economic decline, changing demographics, and continued ignoring of Latinos’ needs and wants, this article presents a dismal view of this growing Pennsylvania population.
The low level of Latino voter participation reporting has become institutionalized. This disappointing, data-driving situation is continually revived and hammed in after every election by our English-language mass media through newspaper articles like the mentioned article.
Like my mother, God rest her soul, would often say, «Ese maldito perro sigue mordiéndome.» (That darn dog keeps biting me.)
Over the past decades, birthright Puerto Rican voter participation has dropped considerably. Not only in Pennsylvania but across the United States and Puerto Rico.
The Philadelphia Inquirer story should have done an investigative report that included those Latinos who aren’t voting to learn their reasons for such behavior. To me, a longtime Puerto Rican/Latino activist with a storied history of encouraging Latino voter turnout and fighting for minority/majority political districts, I would say that political participation is a two-way street.
Unfortunately, the current political system and discouraging news reporting continue to portray Latino voters as apathetic and blame them for not showing up to vote, instead finding ways to diminish a sense of alienation. If politicians and the media continue to depict Latino voters as an unreliable voting block, then this will outweigh the effect of even the best strategies to increase Latino voter turnout.
