Beyond Bad Bunny: The importance of celebrities asking for the Latino vote in this election

Some may consider them a minority, but Latinos are already the vast minority in the United States. They have become a fundamental force of labor, tax collection, language, consumption and culture that in the upcoming elections on November 5 can contribute more than 36 million votes, four million more than in 2020. Being such a large and varied group (one in five inhabitants of the country), there is no clear trend as to the direction of the vote, or about how many Latinos will vote. But it is known that neither candidate will be able to reach the White House without the support of the community. Hence, to mobilize the vote, the heavy artillery is here: celebrities.

These days, different campaigns are getting started, both to call for the vote and to direct it in one direction or another. And all of them are deploying the weapons of fame, talent and millions of followers. That is why famous names such as Jessica Alba (who was at the White House with Joe Biden last week), America Ferrera (who has been seen with Kamala Harris in a funny viral video), Anuel AA (who encouraged people to vote for Donald Trump) or Liza Colón-Zayas, the brand new Emmy winner, in full campaign with Tim Walz, candidate for the Democratic vice presidency, are making an impact.

One of the most powerful is the so-called Vota con Ganas (Vote with enthusiasm), which was launched on September 18 and is part of the Voto Latino Foundation, which for 20 years has encouraged Latinos not only to vote but to register, a fundamental step prior to exercising the right to vote. The project has about $5 million in funding, according to The New York Times, but also powerful voices that are raising their voices, especially through videos on social networks, a key tool to get out the message. Actress Rosario Dawson, who was one of the founders of Voto Latino in August 2004, was one of the first to post a video: “We are excited about this election. The numbers don’t lie. The youth vote can literally decide the elections. If you are worried, overwhelmed, frustrated that your voice is heard, this is the time to claim it. There are 400 seats in Congress that can change hands. We can turn the tide. Volunteer, get informed, register, get encouraged to vote. Take charge of these elections because they are yours.”

Another of the current campaigns is Vote Like a Madre, where mainly Latina women, mothers or not, encourage people to vote, focusing mainly on climate change and protecting children from the damage caused to the environment. It is part of the Latino Victory Project, and in this case they are betting on the Harris-Walz ticket for the November elections. One of the main promoters is Jessica Alba, who has organized a brunch with women in Los Angeles to try to gather support for the Democrats. This campaign, in which Gina Torres and Camila Cabello have been involved, has around $2 million, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Dawson is not wrong: the numbers do not lie. Some polls, such as the Entravision/Altamed poll from mid-September, are already putting Latino participation at 70%, which would represent a huge advance compared to 2020, where just over 16.5 million of the 32 million eligible voters exercised their right. Does this mean that Latinos can be the ones to decide the next occupant of the Oval Office? “Definitely yes. As a result of the Electoral College system, the presidential election will be decided in seven swing states,” notes A. K. Sandoval-Strausz, a Penn State University history professor and director of its Latina/o Studies Program. “The most important is Pennsylvania (which has 19 electoral votes). There are one million Latinos in Pennsylvania, of which 580,000 are eligible to vote. “Seeing how the two previous elections were decided by margins of 44,000 and 80,000 votes, it is obvious how Hispanics can be decisive, although it is important not to forget that there are other influential demographic groups. There are other swing states that have large Latino populations, especially Arizona (where 25% of potential voters are Latino) and Nevada (22%).”

For this scholar, it is “very difficult to evaluate the support of celebrities,” but there is one thing that is evident in these final weeks: “Both political campaigns do consider it important.” “These elections are very close,” explains Sandoval-Strausz, “there are few undecided voters left and it is not yet known how to convince these people. Under these circumstances, it is probably worth trying to make them feel that those who share their cultural preferences deserve their vote.”

If in 2020, 65% of Latinos were in favor of Trump over Biden, this November there is much more of a balance: only 55% would vote for Harris over Trump, according to a poll by The New York Times/Siena. That is why both sides are trying to drag every vote to their side. In general, celebrities tend to be more liberal and support the Democratic candidates, but there have been a few high-profile cases of support for the Republicans, such as those of the rappers Anuel AA, Justin Quiles and Nicky Jam, whom Trump addressed as she, thinking he was a woman.

Hence, the fact that Tim Walz recorded a video in which he joked around with Liza Colón-Zayas (he calls her a chef, like her character in The Bear; she calls him a coach) is much more than a simple anecdote: it is a trickle that reaches and penetrates many voters of different genders, ages and socioeconomic situations. Because, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center, it is less common for campaigns to reach out Latinos than to other population groups such as Blacks or Asians.

That’s why the millions of dollars invested in the campaigns are working. “Yes, in all likelihood,” the university professor says. “In previous elections, the turnout of Latinos has been lower than other demographic groups. This is a consequence of two factors: the median age of Hispanics in the United States is relatively low (31 years, compared to the median age of 44 for the non-Hispanic white population); and that many Hispanics have roots in countries where democracy has often not worked well or has not existed. But this low voting rate presents us with an opportunity: it indicates that there are more Hispanics who a campaign can mobilize, and who have not been represented in political polls because they are not registered to vote.”

If Taylor Swift’s support for Kamala Harris on the night of the electoral debate was key and attracted more than 400,000 people to the website Vote.org to register, experts and the media agree that there is someone who could attract a similar number of people, if not more, and many of them Latino and decisive, to the election: Bad Bunny. The Puerto Rican’s support for a candidacy could be fundamental. Based on his statements, he is more likely to lean towards Harris than Trump, but with just 40 days to go, he has not yet done so. Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio would be key not only among the Puerto Rican community (which can only vote if it resides in a state other than Puerto Rico, where it does not have the right to vote federally), but also in the Latino community. But his compatriots are especially important: Pennsylvania, the key state in these elections, has the third largest population of islanders in the country, with a total of 300,000 possible voters.

Bad Bunny has already encouraged his fellow Puerto Ricans to vote. He did so in a podcast on September 2, where he spoke about the importance of this gesture: “I am not getting involved in politics, politics gets into my life because it affects my country, because it affects Puerto Rico,” he said in a chat with El Tony. “I know that politics is shit, nobody believes in the politicians of the country. Having a moment to take out the [voting] card, go vote, can be like… Damn, it is very important as a young person to decide the future of the country in which we live.” Moved to tears, he said: “It is good to denounce things on social media, it is good to go out on the street to protest, to let yourself feel like a people, but I think that the biggest protest is to go on November 5 to vote against the people who have led us to this outrage and scandal.” Now if he himself will say who to vote for, the protest will be much bigger.

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