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#  Latino Voters Whipping Up the Political Winds in Florida

August 26 2012

Written by Gebe Martinez (gebe.martinez@seiu.org).

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TAMPA -- As Republicans and a hurricane begin gathering in Florida before the GOP national convention here, 10 national Latino voter advocates and local allies are helping whip up the growing political winds in the Latino community.

The ¡Todos A Votar! (Let's Vote!) non-partisan campaign is on a six-state tour to help deliver 650,000 new Latino voter registrations and turnout a historic 12 million Latino voters in the November election. In Florida, more than 1.5 million Latinos are expected to vote.
 "We are on track to meet or exceed our goals in key states," said Ben Monterroso, who directs the Mi Familia Vota program. "There is no doubt that Latino voters know what's at stake in this election and they are signing up."

"The political pundits keep saying Latinos are not going to show up on Election Day, but we are going to prove them wrong," said Rocio Saenz, president of SEIU Local 615 in Boston, who is helping register voters in Florida this week. "Latinos are going to help determine, not only who wins, but also whether 1.7 million DREAMers will be able to legalize their status, whether we will have good jobs, access to health care, a fair immigration system, and whether women will be treated with respect."

 "We have this incredible responsibility to ensure that our community goes out to vote; what we are doing here is historic and is building the foundation for future generations," said Jose Calderon, president and CEO of the Hispanic Federation Inc. Calderon attended the voter registration events in Orlando and Tampa.

Leaders from Mi Familia Vota, National Council of La Raza, League of United Latino American Citizens, National Association of Latino Elected and Local Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund, Voto Latino and others discussed their progress this week in Florida. Throughout the tour, members of the clergy have led events with prayers and blessings for the tour. The voter registration and education campaign previously stopped in California, Nevada and Arizona. From Florida, it goes to Colorado and Texas.

For more information:

\#voto12

¡Todos A Votar! (Let's Vote!) on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/888veyvota

 Latino Voters Reach Historic Crossroads: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eliseo-medina/latino-voters-2012-election\_b\_1818926.html

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