MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — As the 2024 election cycle comes to an end, COPAL is celebrating the immense success of its Minnesota Latino Vote campaign, the organization’s largest civic engagement effort to date. Designed to activate Latine communities throughout the state, this ambitious initiative mobilized over 10,00 Latine voters by equipping them with essential knowledge and resources, ensuring their voices play a pivotal role in shaping the future of the state and the country.
“We set out with the goal to encourage our community to make their voices heard in this very crucial election,” said COPAL’s Executive Director, Francisco Segovia. “Regardless of the election results, we could not be more thankful for the volunteers that showed up to engage with our community and to the Latine voters who took the time to listen and cast their ballots.”
Providing voter education resources was instrumental to the success of the campaign. With the help of dedicated volunteers, COPAL’s outreach strategy included massive bilingual phone banking, door-to-door canvassing and targeted text messaging efforts. The organization is proud to announce that it more than doubled its initial goal to complete over 100,000 phone calls by election day. Instead, it made over 200,000 calls in addition to sending more than 60,000 text messages and knocking on the doors of over 5,000 Latine voters.
“This was one of the largest historic Latino Vote efforts in Minnesota state history,” said COPAL’s Organizing Director, Ryan Perez. “With over 100,000 eligible Latine voters in Minnesota, we knew we had the ability to make a real impact in this election and create momentum for social change. Exceeding our outreach goals is a testament to our dedication of making Minnesota a better place for the Latine community to call home.”
COPAL used predictive modeling and its own database to reach the areas around the state with the highest and fastest-growing Latine populations. That work involved canvassing in areas like St. Peter, Winona, Northfield, Shakopee, and the Twin Cities. Throughout the process, staff and volunteers engaged with voters about the issues they were most concerned with, including education, environmental justice, accessible healthcare, immigration policy, affordable housing, and workers’ rights protections.
“I was able to connect with hundreds of Latino voters during this process,” said Lilly Lopez, a canvasser for COPAL. “It was inspiring to talk with both those who regularly engage in civic participation and with those who were voting for the first time. No matter what kind of voter they were, they all had issues they cared about, and I hope that I was able to help them understand why their voice carries so much weight in this election.”
On election day, COPAL is holding two watch events for the community to witness the impact of their work as the Latine vote comes in. The events will feature voter information, national perspective on the results, and more insight into the Latine community’s influence on what is happening. COPAL invites the community to stream the events live on their YouTube and Facebook pages at 10 A.M. and 5 P.M.
This year, COPAL also announced the launch of a sister organization, Somos the Future. While COPAL continues its vital work as a movement organization dedicated to community advocacy and support, Somos the Future operates as a legally separate political action committee. Stay connected on Somos the Future’s website for more information about the successes of the PAC in influencing a Latine political agenda for the Upper Midwest.
After Election Day concludes, COPAL is committed to furthering its work to address these pressing issues and to creating sustainable change for our community. The organization will continue engaging with voters long after the results are in and will remain a resource for information and grassroots organizing efforts, advancing its ultimate mission to improve the well-being of Latines in Minnesota.
For more information about Minnesota Latino Vote and how to get involved, please visit: mnlatinovote.org.
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MN Latino Vote is COPAL’s initiative to increase the electoral power of Latines in Minnesota. For more information, please visit mnlatinovote.org.