Pandemic forces Hispanic voter registration efforts to go online

ORLANDO, Fla. — Despite the pandemic, an organization working to register voters has made sure thousands in the Latino community will be able to cast a ballot in November.

READ: Vice President Mike Pence to hold back-to-back campaign rallies in Central Florida this weekend

Nancy Batista with “Poder Latinx” says her organization has been working to get as many people as possible in the Latinx community registered to vote.

“This election, we need to make sure we’re voting as if our lives depend on it, because right now, they do,” Batista says.

Batista says they had volunteers going into the community and meeting people face to face until the COVID-19 pandemic changed things.

However, Batista says they were able to transition all of their efforts online.

READ: Stimulus check update: Trump reverses course, urges Congress to fund $1,200 stimulus check, airline, small business help

“Learning how to motivate people. We were meeting on the phone and trying to get them to register to vote,” she says.

The organization has been able register around 37,000 people, including 5,000 just last week.

Batista warns getting people registered is only half the battle. Now they have to make sure voters actually show up on election day.

READ: 9 things to know about Wednesday’s vice presidential debate; how to watch

“We are one of the largest minority voting blocks and we have the power to swing the state.  So for us, it’s important for us to be recognized as a group that has power.  But the only way to do that is to make sure we go out there and vote.”

Cox Media Group