This is a modified version of the original story by Michael Lozano for use in classrooms.

Raymiro Gomez-Galiano knocked on more than a thousand doors in Santa Clarita for the March primary. He was urging Latinos and other voters to vote.

He was 17 at that time. He couldn’t even vote yet.

“I made sure to send people out there to vote on my behalf. That’s something that we all have the power to do,” said Gomez-Galiano. He volunteers with the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights in Los Angeles.

Gomez-Galiano is trying to change who votes in California. A Votebeat analysis of the state’s 12 largest counties found racial gaps in turnout during the 2020 election. Latinos especially trailed behind. About 70% of registered voters voted in areas with a lot of people of color. 87% of registered voters voted in primarily white areas. Diverse communities did see increases in voting from 2016.

“Demographics is not destiny,” said Karla Zombro of the Million Voters Project. “When everyone turns out higher, people of color turn out higher,” she said. “But there still is a big gap.”

Thirty-five states had laws in 2020 that required identification to vote, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. California, in contrast, has made it easier to vote. California has no ID requirement. It also allows same day registration. Voters can preregister as early as age 16. Its relatively new Voter’s Choice Act expanded early voting and vote-by-mail in 15 counties. California responded to the pandemic by mailing a ballot to each voter.

But for all the reforms in place in 2020, the turnout gap remained large. 

‘Some voter suppression’

California is a progressive state with problems, Zombro said. California allows online voter registration. This does not always help communities of color which can have limited access to the internet. Eligible adults are registered to vote when they get a driver’s license. However, many people of color use buses.

Research continues to link who votes in California to race, income, and age. The stark difference was seen within cities like Long Beach during the recent election, Center for Inclusive Democracy data shows.

In Long Beach, registered voter turnout was above 90% within the city’s eastern precincts. In this rich area, you can take a gondola cruise past $3 million homes. Turnout was much lower in the city’s west side where lower income Latinos and Filipinos live. There, turnout hovered between 50% and 75%. The north side is occupied by many lower income Black families. Turnout there was also low.

Asians are generally a high-turnout group. But those of southeastern background like Filipinos have historically low turnout, Zombro said. 

For many voters, one major barrier is language. The federal Voting Rights Act and California election code require certain areas to provide language help to voters. Between the two codes, county registrars also must make “reasonable efforts” to recruit bilingual poll workers. They must also translate election materials and offer translated ballots. 

The Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus monitors polls to see if they are following the law. Its reports show some poll workers don’t know that translated materials exist or where to find them. Polling locations offer remote language services by video or phone. But these services don’t allow people to vote independently. 

“Indirectly, I do think that there is some voter suppression,” said Karen Diaz. She is the electoral field manager with the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights. Translated materials have at times arrived too late to be passed out in the community, she said. Some translations may not be culturally universal.

“I’m Salvadoran and someone from Mexico, Cuba, or a different Spanish-speaking country might not understand my translation of the voting ballot,” Diaz said. 

Winning ‘hearts and minds’

Zombro said sometimes the fight isn’t about education so much as winning over the “hearts and minds” of voters. 

Latinos were less likely to believe it “really matters” who wins the presidential election, according to a Pew Research Center survey.  73% of white voters said they were very motivated to vote. Only 63% of Black voters and 54% of Latino voters and Asian voters said the same.

“Our opposition can suppress our vote by convincing us that voting doesn’t matter,” Zombro said.

“A lot of folks for years didn’t believe that their votes would matter,” said Helen Jones of Dignity and Power Now. “This year, people are really seeing it [does matter]. . .”

Boosting turnout and bridging gaps

The Million Voters Project is made up of 95 California organizations, Zombro said. Next year’s outreach likely will target about 50,000 parolees. Many of these parolees are people of color. They regained the right to vote when Californians passed Proposition 17 in November.

“If the electorate looked like the people, then the outcome from our decision-makers might actually really resolve the issues that we’re facing,” Zombro said.

That’s the goal for now 18-year-old Gomez-Galiano. He is the son of Guatemalan immigrants. He texted family and friends to teach them about their choices on the ballot. 

“A lot of them don’t vote,” he said. “They’re too busy focusing on things to survive. [They are] focusing on their priorities that are their family, so they don’t have the time.” 

But he is trying. He started the NewColorsProject. It provides tutoring to students learning English and adult language courses. He hopes one day to be called “Mr. President.”

“I also have an interest in running for city office, then expanding to state and hopefully nationwide,” Gomez-Galiano said. “I really want to get involved with politics and advocating against social inequalities.”