This year, an estimated 13.3 percent of all eligible US voters were Latinx, giving the Latinx community the potential to have been the largest racial minority voting in this year’s election. With so many Latinxs voting this year, many people are curious what issues matter most to the Latinx community, so here are five of the most important issues the Latinx community took into consideration when voting, and why.
- Immigration
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For many Latinx voters, immigration is one of, if not the most, important issues. Knowing a candidate’s stance on immigration issues can help gain insight into how the candidate feels about the Latinx community as a whole.
Immigration adjacent issues, such as those regarding DACA, are also important to the Latinx community, because these issues will most likely affect those that are close to us.
- COVID-19
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The Latinx community was hit especially hard by the COVID-19 pandemic; in fact, Latinxs had higher rates of COVID-19 than any other racial group. The Latinx community has looked at each candidate’s response to the pandemic, and carefully taken that response into consideration during this year’s election.
- Healthcare
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This year more than ever, healthcare is a major issue that’s important to the Latinx community. The Latinx community – like most – was hit very hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, and as a result healthcare is a big priority. The ability to pay for medical emergencies, or even general medical care, regardless of immigration or employment status is a big concern for the Latinx community.
- Education
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Education is an important issue for the Latinx community because Latinx people are always thinking of the future of their children. As a result, equal access to education is an issue that’s very important. For younger voters, financial aid, access to higher education and an increase in Latinx representation in institutions of higher learning are very important, education related issues.
- Minimum Wage
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The Latinx community is also concerned about minimum wage. Specifically, the exclusions of minimum wage for domestic, farm and tipped workers. Many Latinx people work jobs that are currently excluded from minimum wage, so eliminating these exclusions is very important to Latinx people.
Far from the only issues the Latinx community has taken into consideration during this election season, these five examples are just a few of the most important to our community.