Latino voters like me will make the difference in November

I’m Latina, a citizen, a Long Islander and a voter. And this year, Latinos like me could very well be the difference in elections on Long Island and throughout New York state.

For years, Long Island’s Latino population has grown steadily. Politicians and their strategists, meanwhile, have largely ignored our growing potential political clout, wrongly dismissing us as non-citizen immigrants or infrequent voters who will not turn out for important elections. How else are we to understand the recent anti-immigrant campaign mailers and messages that Republicans like state Senate candidate Chris McGrath (who scapegoated immigrant students in his mailers) and my Congressman, Lee Zeldin – who has praised family separation through deportation and stumped for Trump, even after publicly acknowledging Trump’s racism?

But, across the state and in key parts of the suburbs, Latinos are now a critical mass – not just of the population, but also of the electorate. Statewide, Latinos are 17.6 percent of the population. On Long Island, Latino residents make up 14.6 percent of residents in Nassau County and 16.5 percent in Suffolk County. And we live across the island, with substantial concentrations all the way from Elmont to Islip to Brookhaven and the Hamptons.

As shown in a new report,“Critical Mass: Latino Voters Poised to Make the Difference in November State and Congressional Elections,” the Latino electorate has grown enough that we are now potential difference makers in many of the Long Island elections that analysts expect to be most competitive.

The report, published by Make the Road Action, an immigrant advocacy organization to which I belong, shows that Latino voters are now 12 percent of the state’s electorate. And there are large numbers of Latino voters in key political districts on Long Island. For example, substantial concentrations of Latino voters reside in the four state Senate Districts that could determine the balance of power in Albany. In three key districts in Nassau County (6, 7, and 9, currently occupied by Republicans. Kemp Hannon and Jack Martins and Democrat Todd Kaminsky, respectively) Latinos make up 8 to 9 percent of registered voters, and 22 to 28 percent are people of color.

In the two most competitive Congressional races – Districts 1 and 3, currently occupied by Zeldin and outgoing Democrat Steve Israel – the report shows Latinos constitute 5 and 6 percent of the electorate, respectively, and voters of color account for 10 and 15 percent.

We are still not the majority, but in a year where we expect close races, and with Latino voters and voters of color mobilized by Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant campaign and pro-Trump candidates like Zeldin, our voices will be united against the politics of hate. And I am confident that we will be difference-makers.

This past April’s state Senate special election in Nassau County was a testament to our voting power. Even the Republican county party chair acknowledged in Newsday that voters of color had made the difference and won the election for Todd Kaminsky. Since April, as Mr. Trump and Long Island Republicans have doubled down on their xenophobic rhetoric and policy proposals – including building a massive wall bordering Mexico, pledging to separate millions of immigrant families through mass deportation, and repeatedly characterizing Latinos and immigrants as criminals, killers and rapists – our community has only become more motivated to stand up and make ourselves heard at the ballot box.

Nationwide and across New York, I have seen reports of increases in naturalization rates and voter registration among Latinos and immigrants. Talking to my friends and neighbors on Long Island every day, the high level of motivation among Latino voters is palpable.

We are sick and tired of being used as a political punching bag, and now we are poised to be difference-makers in November by defeating Donald Trump and all those who embrace Trump-ism.

This nation is supposed to protect us all. The tremendous injustice, disrespect, insecurity and racism our community is facing during this campaign season put the ideals of equal rights and protection in jeopardy. The rhetoric of hate makes me sad and angry. But it also drives me more than ever to cast a ballot and make my voice heard this year.

Marlenis de los Santos is a registered voter in Long Island's 1st Congressional District and a member of Make the Road Action.