Latinos Voting Early In California In Big Numbers
SAN JOSE (KPIX 5) -- With early voting underway across America, two things are becoming clear - a surge of Latino voters is showing up at the polls - and it could help shape the outcome of the election.
Jose Pinal is a college student and a phone bank worker at the south bay labor council in San Jose.
He says the Spanish speaking voters he calls are already getting out to the polls.
"Four years ago, most of them didn't even care. Most of them didn't want to vote. Now they want to vote. The ones that I talk to are interested in voting and I think that's going to make a difference in our community," Pinal said.
After Donald trump called Mexican immigrants rapists, and promised to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico, Latino groups concentrated on voter registration over the summer.
Those efforts may be paying off.
"We're seeing early voting in Latino neighborhoods that's way ahead of what we saw in 2012," Billionaire Philanthropist Tom Steyer said.
Steyer came to San Jose to work the phones on a variety of issues, and help get out the Latino vote.
"We know that people around California, Latinos, Asians, African-American and white are pushing back against Donald trump's hate-filled rhetoric," Steyer said.
