By Carlos Curbelo and Janet Murguía
One of the biggest stories this election has been the crucial role Latino voters played in many highly contested races. According to the Pew Research Center, a record 32 million Hispanics were able to vote this year, representing 13 percent of all eligible voters. From traditional battleground states like Florida to emerging swing states like Arizona, Latinos are an increasingly powerful — and ideologically diverse — group.
It is our duty to protect our right to have a voice in the political process. We can do that by demanding that every vote cast in accordance with applicable laws be counted across the nation.
One of us is a Republican whose parents fled Fidel Castro’s regime and went on to represent constituents in southern Florida for four years in the U.S. House of Representatives. The other is the president and CEO of UnidosUS, the largest nonpartisan Latino advocacy group and civil-rights organization in the country. We, like many Latinos across our great nation, do not agree on everything.
But there is one thing that has united us, and millions of others in communities across the country: a firm commitment that no matter whom we supported in this year’s balloting, our voices should be heard in free and fair elections. That’s why we both joined the bipartisan National Council on Election Integrity — a group of more than 40 political, government and civic leaders from many walks of life, including former Cabinet secretaries, former elected officials, retired military leaders and civic leaders. The National Council is sponsoring a multimillion-dollar effort to promote free and fair elections that count all Americans’ votes.
We know that our country is made truly great when everyone, no matter where they’re from or what they believe, is a part of the process. As an ever-growing force in both political parties, Latinos must be at the forefront of such calls for integrity in our elections.
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, a record number of voters turned to absentee and early voting as safe and secure ways to cast their ballots. This was especially true in Latino communities, which used both voting methods 2.5 times more this year than in 2016, often in some of the closest races around the nation. In fact, we decided the outcome in many of them.
While about 25 percent of all ballots cast in 2016 were absentee or mail-in ballots, that number was much, much higher this year — possibly as much as 50 percent of voters. In some states, including the two crucial battleground states of Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, election officials could not begin processing — let alone counting — absentee ballots until Election Day itself. That’s why it has taken so long for those states to see their elections called.
While we are used to knowing results on election night, it’s OK that we don’t this year. Our election officials are meeting an enormous challenge this year, and taking extra time to accurately process, verify, and count our ballots. It is our duty to support them in this work. Latinos must stand firm and insist that all votes cast in accordance with applicable laws be counted this election.
In America, as opposed to many countries around the world, we transfer or maintain power peacefully. Our country has stood the test of time because we have rules and procedures in place that guarantee robust election processes. We’ve held successful elections through pandemics, depressions, and world wars. This year’s election amid the coronavirus pandemic was no different. We owe all our election officials and poll workers — who risked their own health to administer safe and secure elections, which were conducted without fraud or foul play — a debt of gratitude.
Our strength as a nation is in both our diversity and our unity. We must now defend the system that has made our country a beacon of freedom for the world.
Carlos Curbelo, a Republican, represented Florida’s 26th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Janet Murguía is president and CEO of UnidosUS, the largest nonpartisan Latino advocacy and civil-rights organization in the country.
