PHOENIX — Latino Loud, a voter education program dedicated to helping the Hispanic community, emphasizes the importance of getting young Hispanics in the voting booths this year.

By providing resources and support tailored to the needs of Hispanic voters, Latino Loud seeks to bridge the gap in electoral engagement and ensure that every voice is heard in the democratic process, according to those involved in the program.

Beginning as a program from Chicanos Por La Causa, Latino Loud differs from its larger entity by focusing solely on politics and government. Latino Loud was launched by Chicanos Por La Causa in 2022, and since then they’ve made strides in encouraging 37,000 people to register to vote the same year.

“The intent is to engage the community and to invite them to participate in the elections,” said community director of Latino Loud, Lydia Guzman. “When it comes to political empowerment, that means registering them to vote so they have a voice. And when a community collectively has a voice, that’s when their issues are heard.”

The Hispanic vote this year is essential to the presidential election.

Therefore voter organization groups, like Latino Loud, are narrowing down on community problems that now can be highlighted by the promise of electoral change. Historically, the Hispanic community hasn’t always been heard or seen by the government.

“There was a time when we saw nothing but anti-immigrant bills or bills that discriminate against Latinos. Everything from housing to education to health care,” said Guzman. “Now we’re seeing our issues being heard … which are the same issues every American faces.”

This year, Latino Loud wants to “engage low propensity voters, or people who are not registered to vote,” said Guzman. As she describes it, there are levels of voter engagement from people. “Ones are people who aren’t registered to vote. Twos are people who register to vote but don’t vote ...” Latino Loud focuses on these categories of voters.

To connect with these levels of voters, Guzman explained that they’re “talking to the voters.”

Latino Loud uses media to send messages and reminders to digital audiences. For younger audiences, Latino Loud focuses on issues that actually affect these younger demographics. “Nobody’s paying attention to them… we don’t want to tell them what’s important to them, we want them to hear from them, the youth,” said Guzman.

Outreach to younger Hispanic voters can be seen in ASU organizations like The Congressman Ed Pastor Center for Politics and Public Service at the Watts College for Policy and Public Service. This center focuses on “creating a space where students can become more involved in politics,” said executive director Alberto Olivas.

The center has done work with Latino Loud in the past.
“We do partner with them from time to time, for example they were an exhibitor at our recent voter expo event that we had at ASU downtown and we try to see how we can support their efforts in engagement and things that we do,” said Olivas.

Olivas highlighted the accomplishments Latino Loud has had within the student body in prior years.

“They have been phenomenally effective at getting hundreds of people registered to vote with a particular focus in the Latino community. That campaign really made a difference in the 2022 elections and really prepared a whole new generation of Latino voters to have a say in things and to be represented in political outcomes in ways we haven’t seen before.”

These accomplishments have achieved recognition from the center in public displays after the immense voter growth thanks to Latino Loud.

“We have an annual awards event and we honor an individual and an organization as a public servant organization. Last year in 2023, one of the recipients was Chicanos Por La Causa’s voter outreach campaign, Latino Loud,” said Olivas.

ASU senior Marissa Rivera spent time as an intern at Torres Consulting Law Group and it was there she won a grant internship to work with Latino Loud. She describes her personal experience with Latino Loud as “amazing” and that “they were such a great organization for me to work with.”

“Being a freshman in college, they were always understanding, they always wanted to work around my schedule and they were open to hearing my ideas. They always wanted the best outcome for Hispanics and Latinos within Arizona and helping them have a voice. It’s a very positive organization and I believe that they have a lot of room to help uplift Latinos more and I definitely saw that. I definitely felt heard and seen and they’re definitely wanting to better the Latino life in Arizona,” said Rivera.

Latino Loud, according to Rivera, wanted to reach the youth with “social media, that’s one thing Latino Loud was pushing for when I was an intern.” She also explained how Latino Loud pulled younger demographics by “getting involved with social media, commercials, and also having programs that provide incentives, “ said Rivera.

Rivera shares how overlooking large demographics can leave an effect on communities and how the state of Arizona has more to do in order to progress politically. “Many Hispanics can get overlooked but getting involved with organizations like Latino Loud I was heard and seen as a Hispanic, but again I had to look for that. I feel like it’s not as easily accessible.”

The impact of the Hispanic youth vote runs deeper than those in office, the Hispanic vote can provide a better sense of representation of those who aren’t seen by the government.

“For a lot of the Hispanic youth sometimes they are first generational so they have parents who can’t vote if they’re undocumented, and I think it’s very important for them to speak and use their voice for their families,” said Rivera.

Rivera also points out the effects younger people voting can have on an overall community. “Gen Z Hispanics have different political opinions or beliefs than the older generations so pushing that vote and being able to educate their families within. Show them how important it is to vote, show them how important it is to get educated”

One thing Rivera learned from her time with Latino Loud is that it’s OK to not always agree on political topics, what she emphasizes is an absolute need to vote either way.

“You can’t state your opinion without voting, I think it’s a waste of time and a bit hypocritical if you’re not doing anything about it,” said Rivera.
Rivera holds out hope for Latino Loud’s progress this election year and explains the best way to reach any demographic.

“Obviously their first year in 2022 they had a lot of success and I just hope that they continue to grow more and get more social media traction with their following,” Rivera said.

Isabella Gomez is a student at the Arizona State University Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.