Willie Velazquez is one of the foremost champions of American voter rights of the last century. He is credited with entrenching voter rights of the Mexican American populations into what they are. With a rallying cry christened, “your vote is your voice,” the poll crusader, reformer, and champion mooted a grassroots voter drive that ultimately altered America’s political landscape (Robinson, 2020). By using the politically neutral Southwest Voter Registration and Education Project (SVREP), Velazquez initiated more than a thousand poll registration crusades in almost two hundred cities, creating a movement that has become a behemoth with over 27 million Latino voters to date. Yet attempts to bring the desired change were not all smooth sailing.
The SVREP movement encountered numerous hurdles on its path to bring this change. Throughout preceding years, Latin Americans were kept from elections through the utilization of poll taxes. Established in the 1890s to disenfranchise African American voters in the southern states, poll taxes were deemed voting fees. Eligible voters needed to pay taxes before casting a ballot. This subtle election barrier discouraged a large population of Latin Americans from getting involved in American politics. Another hurdle faced by the SVREP initiative by state laws to encouraging gerrymandering that constantly led to divisions among Latino populations into ballot areas that swallowed their numbers. In many instances, the SVREP officials were met with outright intimidation from different quarters, from officials to citizens.
Hispanics face low voter registration and turn out because of a fractured identity. For example, Cuban Americans are considered more conservative than Puerto Ricans because of failing to speak in one voice. Hispanics are still disenfranchised by voting because of perceived and actual laws concerning immigration. The lack of translated voting materials plays a significant role in Hispanic voter turnout. Balloting can sometimes involve intensive reading leading to discouragement in participation in communities that are not well versed in English.
References
Robinson, J. (2020). Willie Velasquez: Your Vote Is Your Voice. KPBS Public Media.