Non-white Voters 'Would Change The Trajectory' of Texas and The Nation, Activist Says
Only 40 percent of Black, Latino voters cast ballots in Texas
The recent massacre at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas — and the subsequent stubborn refusal by Gov Greg Abbott and other Republicans to embrace any meaningful gun reform — shines a light on the untapped potential of Black and Latino voters in the state, according to a prominent Latina political activist.
An 18-year-old gunman last week shot his grandmother in the face and left her wounded at her home, drove a pickup truck that crashed at a high speed by a nearby elementary school, and exchanged shots with police officers on the scene who were unable to stop him before he killed 19 children and two teachers in a massacre in a single classroom.
Despite the carnage, the Republican governor of Texas has refused to publicly back any reforms aimed at keeping high-powered guns out of the hands of dangerous people — even after being challenged to do so by his Democratic opponent in the November election.
Right-wing politicians keep control in Texas because not enough of the Lone Star State's Black and Latino voters are showing up at the polls, according to Maria Teresa Kumar, president and CEO of the Latino political organization, Voto Latino.
Many non-white voters — after decades of trying and protesting — have seen that change hasn’t happened, so they have stopped participating, Kumar said, in an interview with MSNBC host Joy Reid. “And one of the reasons we’re going to Uvalde is to speak, to recognize the pain, but also recognize that the biggest challenge to Texas right now is that it’s a non-voting state.
“Only 40 percent of Latinos participated in the last election. Only 40 percent of African-Americans participated in the last election,” she added. “We’re talking about roughly 3.5 million eligible voters that if they cast a ballot, they would change the trajectory not just of Texas, but of the country.
“And that’s what we have to recognize, is that there is power of the voting booth, but have you to heal and have you to have action at the same time, Joy,” Kumar said.
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