On Sunday, Oct. 23, Mijente, a Latinx organization known for its record to get their communities activated and registered to vote, hosted a celebration to launch the beginning of its Philly Vota Seguro campaign at The Laundry Café location at 4th and Allegheny in Fairhill. 

The launch gave residents an opportunity to eat, dance, and learn how to participate in the upcoming midterm elections on Nov. 8. 

In just over 10 minutes after the event started at noon on Sunday, organizers had already registered more than 15 people to vote. 

In addition to voter education, organizers offered free washes for residents, food and music from a DJ. PA State Rep. Danilo Burgos was also in attendance, and the city campaign will include the largest bilingual canvas in Philadelphia history. 

Mijente is home to Latinx individuals who fight and protest for racial, economic, gender and climate justice. They do this through campaigns that connect people across a wide network and serve as a hub for culture, learning and advocacy. 

The organization gained popularity in 2015 after getting recognition for its #Not1More Deportation campaign, in which it realized the need to build something to confront the challenges and respond to the threats facing the Latinx community. In the time since then, Mijente has become a national organization for Latinx individuals and communities across the country fighting for racial and economic justice. 

To talk more about the effort in North Philly on Sunday, AL DÍA spoke with Erika Almirón, a longtime advocate for Latinx communities in the city and state who was on the ground registering the individuals 

“Today’s event I would categorize as very successful. The energy was high with close to 100 families participating,” she said. “We registered mostly everyone who wasn’t already registered to vote and people were super engaged.”

Almirón went on to say that those they interacted with were also “excited” to engage other family members and friends about the voting process. 

With the midterm elections on Nov. 8 looming ever close, campaigns and organizations across the country are working day and night to try and get their communities activated and registered to vote.

The Latino community in particular is going to play a huge role in how the pendulum swings politically towards either Democrats or Republicans. While the Latino community has traditionally fallen for Democrats, but there is significant push from Republicans, and polls are showing — especially among older Latinos — that the gap is closing between the parties. 

Philadelphia is a city where the Latino population remains largely untapped voting-wise, and it’s why an organization like Mijente is working especially hard to educate and activate the community to vote. 

According to the 2020 census, the Hispanic population in Philly grew to 17%. However, with that increase, they only represent 3% of the electorate. With the Philly Vota Seguro campaign, Mijente hopes to change that reality and flex some political muscle. According to the organization, during the 2021 Senate runoff elections, Mijente got in contact with every Latinx voter in Georgia in just over eight weeks and as a result, there were 140,995 new Latinx voters in the state compared to 2016. 

Pew estimated 34.5 million Latino Americans were eligible to vote this year, making them the fastest-growing racial and ethnic group in the country’s electorate since the last midterm elections. In the time since 2018, the number of eligible Latino voters has increased by 4.7 million, representing 62% of the total growth in U.S. eligible voters in that timeframe. 

Also in the Pew report, projections show that Latinos will account for an estimated 14.3% of all eligible voters this November, a new record high. This number has increased over the past 20 years and is up from 12.8% in 2018. It’s in stark comparison to 2000, when Latinos made up just 7.4% of U.S. eligible voters. 

To learn more about Mijente and its upcoming events, you can follow on Twitter @ConMijente, or check out its website mijente.net. 

The last day to register to vote in Pennsylvania is Monday, Oct. 24. Election Day is Nov. 8.