Millennial Latinos Will Help Decide the 2016 Election, Study Says

As the body of eligible Latino voters in the U.S. grows larger, young Latinos will exert even more influence on the 2016 election, according to a new report by Pew Research Center.

The Latino electorate is expected to make up a record 11.9 percent of eligible voters in the U.S. this year. Within that group, young U.S citizen Latinos aged 18 to 35 (a majority of whom are U.S.-born) reaching voting age are the biggest source of growth—and will be for the next two decades. Legal immigrants who decide to naturalize and become U.S. citizens are another significant source of voter growth.

About 11.9 million Hispanic millennials will be able to vote in the 2016 election, far less than the 42.2 million white millennials who are eligible. Yet Hispanic millennials make up a much larger percentage of the overall Hispanic vote (44 percent) than white millennials do (27 percent).

Despite their growing numbers, however, not eveyone driving the trend makes it to the polls: voter turnout rates for Hispanics are lower than other racial groups, and Latino millennials also register to vote at lower rates than millennials of other races.

[Pew]