Abstract

Excerpted From: Armand J. Avila, The Latino Electorate: Shaping Texas Politics, 41 Chicana/o-Latina/o Law Review 1 (2025) (134 Footnotes) (Full Document).

Texas is incredibly diverse, with one survey ranking the state second in diversity among all states in the country based on various racial, socioeconomic, cultural, and household metrics. It also has the fastest-growing population in the nation. In 2023, Texas’s population grew by 1.6 million people, outpacing the growth rate of every other state in the country. With this growing population comes an evolving electorate that represents the state’s emerging demographics. In 2023, the United States Census reported that Latinos are now the largest racial or ethnic group in Texas, totaling 11.9 million of the state’s 30.5 million residents. Latinos are also now a majority in 77 of 254 counties, including many of the state’s largest by population. According to the Latino Data Hub, however, only 6.03 million Latinos were eligible to vote in Texas in 2022.

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The Latino electorate in Texas has historically faced discrimination and disenfranchisement, with the state seemingly leaping for every opportunity it can find (or create) to restrict access to the ballot box. This has contributed to deeply entrenched feelings among some Texas Latinos who (1) lack the civic engagement to feel that their vote is meaningful and impactful; (2) lack a culture that motivates voting behavior through family and peer relationships; and (3) feel they are unseen or unrepresented by the political system, which includes political campaigns and candidates as well as government entities and officeholders.

Much of the current conversation around Latinos characterizes them as a “sleeping giant” largely uninterested in politics. But the evidence indicates otherwise: Texas Latinos are paying attention and want to be a part of the conversation and process of how their cities, state, and national government are run. But many currently feel unheard and left to figure out the process themselves. Additionally, political media tends to focus on recent shifts from one party to another as though the demographic is a goal to be scored in a sporting match and without exhibiting sincere care for the Latino community and the reasons behind such partisan swings. Latinos’ willingness to engage and participate in our shared democracy must be met with increased access, engagement, and investment by actors across politics, media, and government.

Additionally, the power of nonprofit and local community organizations to effectuate this participation cannot be understated. Many local organizations consist of the same Latino community members that they hope to mobilize, empowering these groups with in-depth knowledge of how to meaningfully connect with potential voters.

The adage that “Rome was not built in a day” applies here. Building a culture of civic, political, and electoral engagement among Texas Latinos will be a long and ongoing process. Many of the pertinent forces influencing voting patterns have existed in Texas for decades, if not longer, and the solutions that are likely to reverse them will require unrelenting efforts from advocates willing to endure an often-hostile political environment.

This article ultimately calls on public officials to lower the chronic systemic barriers to Latino political participation, for the media to reframe the national conversation around the interests and issues affecting Texas Latinos, and for nonprofit and community organizations to refine and improve upon their existing efforts. The largest demographic group in the second-largest state in the country deserves no less, and operatives across the political spectrum should eagerly embrace an increase in their engagement as voters and citizens.

J.D., 2025, Texas A&M School of Law.