Young Hispanic residents of Arizona are encouraging their peers to become more civically engaged by making their voices heard in upcoming elections and members of the advocacy group Poder Latinx said it is especially important now, amid an increasingly caustic and polarized political landscape.

About 41% of Hispanic Arizonans are registered to vote but make up less than 21% of all registered voters in the state.

Helen Romero, a Tucson member of the group, is encouraging people Romero knows to register, vote and become more civically engaged.

“Latina involvement is important because our communities deserve to be represented by the people who understand their experiences. When Latinos get involved, we bring diverse perspectives. Participation also inspires the next generation,” Romero explained.

Poder Latinx has created an online guide for voters to help them register, find their polling place and study ballot information prior to an election.

Romero added she is helping the Hispanic community understand their voices are heard in elections, pushing back on a persistent historical narrative in the community their votes do not matter.

“Not only Latinas, I feel like the whole Latin community doesn’t know that their voice is being heard. They try to shy away from politics because, I mean, we were taught that since we were little not to be involved in those things,” Romero observed.

Nearly 15% of the Hispanic population reported they felt their vote would not matter in the 2016 general election, or they were uninterested in the outcome.

Arizona’s Hispanic youth encourage voter participation was first published by Public News Service and was republished with permission.