Bridging the Latino voter gap in Eastern Washington

Jimenez is a freelance journalist based in Washington state.

The Fulcrum presents We the People, a series elevating the voices and visibility of the persons most affected by the decisions of elected officials. In this installment, we explore the motivations of over 36 million eligible Latino voters as they prepare to make their voices heard in November.

Nationwide conversations on this year’s election have focused on the presidential race, but local elections are equally important, especially for Latino voters, according to Maria Jimenez, founder of Poder Común.

“We have a population of people who have truly been left out,” Jimenez said, adding that most people tend to focus on national elections and rarely focus on engaging with Latino voters in Eastern Washington.

Poder Común was founded by Jimenez in 2020 and is the bilingual branch of  Common Power, an organization that partners with campaigns and helps canvas.

She expanded the organization because she saw a gap in Latino voter turnout in local elections.

Since 2023, Poder Común has focused on working in Eastern Washington to increase Latino voter engagement in local elections by partnering with campaigns like that of Maria Beltran, who is running for state Senate in Washington’s 14th district.

Beltran is one of four Latina candidates running for a seat in the district, where Latinos make up a little over 50 percent of the voting population.

As a daughter of immigrants and farmworkers, Beltran said she remembers how her parents worked multiple laborious jobs to put food on the table and pay rent.

“Something that I felt growing up was that I felt like no one was listening to us,” Beltran said.” It felt like no one was looking out for us, and I felt like we were being left out.”

This inspired her to attend school, make a difference in her community and ultimately run for office. According to Jimenez, in a predominantly Latino district the rise of Latina candidates on the ballot may encourage voters to participate in the upcoming election.

“I would say that for local elections, I feel like people definitely get excited and are more likely to vote if there's somebody that looks like them and can understand them better,” Jimenez said.

Beltran’s campaign has focused on targeting “low-propensity voters,” meaning they’ve previously voted in major elections such as the 2020 election but haven’t engaged much in local races since.

“Nobody knew what a state senator was,” Beltran said. “A lot of it has come down to, historically, the people who have been representing us and who have been winning elections have never gone above and beyond to engage us in this electoral process.”

When talking to voters in these communities for Beltran’s campaign, Jimenez recalls people telling her they hadn’t voted because they believed their votes didn’t matter.

To help increase Latino voter engagement, Poder Común and the Beltran campaign have made information accessible in English and Spanish.

“We bring volunteers to engage voters in their language,” Jimenez said, adding that they also focus on educating voters on the importance of local elections and how it can help them.

According to Jimenez, the most common issue Latino voters bring up is the economy due to the rising cost of living.

“I think one of the most important things for people in those areas is actually not immigration, like a lot of people assume,” Jimenez said.

Other issues voters have brought up are rising crime and violence, lack of infrastructure, and access to affordable health care and education.

Washington’s 14th district received national attention after Latino voters filed a lawsuit in 2022 alleging the new district maps prevented them from voting for their preferred candidates.

After voters won the lawsuit, the new maps used in this year’s elections would give candidates like Beltran a shot at a seat in the state Senate that is currently occupied by Republican Curtis King, who has been in office since 2007.

“I think this redistricting will give Maria Beltran and anyone else at least a more fair opportunity and to at least have a chance,” Jimenez said.

Following the lawsuit, the 14th district is one of the most closely watched races for the Washington Legislature this year.

For Jimenez, the main motivator for continuing this work is her conversations with voters who look like her and remind her of her own family.

“After going [to Eastern Washington] and experiencing voters there, I cannot turn my head around anymore,” Jimenez said. “It's almost impossible. You can’t turn your head around when there's so much need there.”