Latinos have long faced barriers in the effort to register and cast ballots at the polls.
Texas ranked the hardest state to vote in 2020 and is one of only eight states that does not allow for online voter registration.
Around four million Latinos are currently registered to vote in Texas. About two million more are eligible to vote, but have not yet registered.
San Antonio activist and organizer Willie Velásquez founded the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project (SVREP) 50 years ago to mobilize and empower the Latino community to vote.
It’s now the largest and oldest Latino voter participation organization in the U.S.
Velásquez became synonymous with the phrase, “Su voto es su voz” or “your vote is your voice.”
Lydia Camarillo, current president of SVREP, said the organization originated to help combat the struggles communities of color experienced for decades to get out the vote.
“There was the poll tax then,” she said. “Plus, (Latinos voters) knew that even if they paid the poll tax, there was no guarantee they were going to win because of the way that the systems were established.”
The fight to get out the vote continues.
Camarillo says Latino representation at the polls is crucial during this November's election.
“We are in a state of attack to our democracy, and part of (SVREP’s) mission is to fight to protect that democracy,” she said.
SVREP is marking its 50th year with a Get-Out-To-Vote campaign to mobilize Latinos in swing states like Arizona and Georgia.
SVREP hosts a voting rights conference on Oct. 12 at the University of Texas at San Antonio downtown campus.
The flagship event examines the current state of voting rights and the fight to ensure accessible voting.
Click here to register.
