Pam Cruz. Peninsula 360 Press.
It was the morning of Saturday, November 7, when the media announced that the Democratic candidate for the U.S. presidency, Joe Biden, won in Pennsylvania, a state that would give him the victory by putting him above the 270 electoral votes needed, however, the minority vote was crucial to his victory.
And according to Stephen Nuño-Perez, an analyst with the Latino Decisions organization, according to the results of The American Election Eve 2020 poll, Joe Biden won Latino voters nationwide by an estimated margin of 43 points.
Thus, the now-virtual winner of the U.S. presidency received the support of 70 percent of Latinos, while Republican Donald Trump captured 27 percent, and the remaining 3.0 percent supported other candidates.
The also communications director of the organization, said during the virtual meeting: "Analysts take stock of the ethnic vote and its impact" conducted by Ethnic Media Services, that the Covid-19 pandemic had a significant impact on Latino voters, as it is the community that has been hit hardest by the virus.
Nationally, he noted, 67 percent of Latinos surveyed agreed with the statement that Trump "ignored early warning signs" about the virus and "mismanaged" the government's response.
Their attitudes are similar to those of Asian Americans (67 percent), but notably lower than those of African Americans (84 percent), he said.
The poll also notes that only white voters surveyed were more likely to agree with the statement that "there was nothing Trump could have done differently" to limit the spread of the virus (54 percent).
In that regard, 90 percent of Latino voters said a national mandate is needed to wear masks in public whenever Covid-19 is a threat.
The study also reveals that of the Latino community, 45 percent of Cubans would vote for Biden and 52 percent for Trump, while Mexican-Americans 74 percent would vote for the Democratic candidate and 23 percent for the Republican.
In the case of U.S.-born Latinos, 70 percent would vote for Biden and 27 percent for Trump.
In gender also marked an important difference, as Latinas are the ones who would vote for Biden with 73 percent against 23 percent who would have done so for Trump, while men were 67 percent in favor of Biden and 31 percent for Trump.
According to Latino Decisions, the poll of more than 15,000 voters nationwide, in Pennsylvania, the state that gave the victory to the Democrat, 69 percent of Latinos would vote for Biden while 26 percent would vote for Trump.
To that, they add that nationally, Latinos supported protests this summer that continue to this day in response to police abuse of the African-American community.
When questioned about whether they believe police should be held accountable for their actions when they kill or abuse African Americans and whether to get rid of laws that make it harder to prosecute police officers, so they face justice like everyone else, 89 percent said they supported it.
Similarly, the issue of racism was among their top priorities when it came to voting, with 62 percent of Latino voters saying that racism and discrimination against their community had increased in the past four years.
This wasn't just a sentiment among Democrats either, with 34 percent of Republican Latinos saying the same thing.
According to Theodore Johnson, a researcher at the Brennan Center for Justice, the racial justice protests, coupled with the Covid-19 numbers and unemployment in the African-American community, were key to getting these voters to the polls.
In that sense, he noted that 90 percent of voters of African descent gave their ballot in favor of Democrat Joe Biden, while only 8.0% did so for Republican Donald Trump.
This, he noted, has been seen since 1964, where 90 percent of African-American votes have been for Democratic candidates, and this election saw the highest voter turnout in more than 120 years.
However, he said, the gender bias is different, as more men voted for Donald Trump, while women mostly went for Joe Biden, as Kamala Harris accompanying the Democrat also helped turnout increase.
In the case of Asian Americans, about 300,000 voted for the first time, said John Yang, vice president and director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice. He added that the enthusiasm for these votes exceeded those of 2012 and 2016.
The activist also noted that between 65 and 70 percent of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) voters supported Biden, while 30 percent voted for Trump.
Yang said it was a common good that united African descendants, Latinos, Native Americans, and Asian Americans to vote more enthusiastically for Biden, especially in states key to the Democrat's victory.
The editor of Indian Country Today, meanwhile, noted the impact of the Native American vote, and that in these particular elections, Native Americans were elected to state legislatures, most notably Arizona and Kansas.
In this regard, he noted that racism and Xenophony in the speech of Republican candidate Donald Trump, made natives turn their vote for Democrat Joe Biden, as he said that the native community, looking for "a welcoming country".
