Democracy? Overcoming Registration Challenges for Latino Higher Turnout

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Despite the increased role of Latino voters in determining elections and vast evidence showing the crucial role of long-term and sustained contact for their turnout, the mobilization of Latino voters has frequently lagged behind other major demographic groups. This, coupled with other systemic barriers has kept many Latinos away from exercising their right to vote.
Even though Latinos’ share of the electorate has rapidly grown in the past decade, a large turnout gap between Latino voters and those of other racial groups remains. In this data brief, we quantify the size of the turnout gap between Latinos and other groups in the 2020 election. Comparing the number of eligible, registered, and actual voters we illuminate whether the turnout gap between Latino voters and others is due to lower registration rates or to lower mobilization of registered voters.
According to a UCLA study, Latinos have a lower percentage of registration to vote and a lower mobilization to register them on the lists.

At the national level:
Latinos had the lowest registration rate among racial and ethnic groups during the 2020 general election at 61.1 percent. This was more than 10 percentage points lower than the 72.7% registration rate for all voters regardless of race.
However, once registered, 88 percent of Latino voters cast a ballot, which is only 4 percentage points lower than the 92 percent of registered voters who cast a ballot regardless of race.
In California:
Similar to national-level trends, Latino voters also had the lowest registration rate of all voters in California. Only slightly more than 60 percent of eligible Latino voters registered statewide which is lower than the overall 69.4 percent registration rate.
However, just as the trend at the national level, once they are registered, the vast majority of Latino voters cast a ballot, and the gap in turnout between them and the rest of other voters decreases. Close to 91 percent of registered Latino percentages voted in the 2020 election, just three points lower than the overall rate.
Latinos were the only racial or ethnic group whose share of the electorate decreased from eligibility to the ballot box. Latino voter representation dropped from 32% of eligible voters to 28% of registered voters and to 27% of those who voted.