PHOENIX — At the Poder Latinx headquarters in Phoenix, voter registration forms are stacked and ready to go.
Poder volunteers will be going to high schools and Glendale Community College Tuesday, celebrating the 10th anniversary of National Voter Registration Day.
Poder is among several community groups looking to register first-time voters in time for the November election.
In Arizona, the number of Latino voters is growing but their allegiance to one party or another is not.
"We're definitely seeing a high rise of independent voters," said Nancy Herrera, Arizona state voter registration coordinator for Ponder Latinx.
A lesson for all candidates to learn, Herrera said, "Our representatives and individuals who want the Latino vote have to connect with the Latino community and the issues that are in play."
The numbers bare out what Herrera is seeing.
According to elections analyst Sam Alvy of UPLIFT Campaigns, there are 845,085 registered Latino voters in Arizona.
That's about 19% of the electorate.
Democrats make up the majority comprising 44%.
Right behind them is Independent and Unaffiliated voters at just under 41%.
Republicans bring up the rear with slightly more than 15% of Latino voters registered with the GOP.
"Young voters, they're done being someone's pawn in this game," Herrera said, "They want someone who is going to truly represent them. Who is going to listen to their needs, their wants."
Democrats have worked hard to try to keep the Latino vote theirs, but social issues like abortion, the border, and the economy demonstrate Latinos don't all vote the same way.
In 2020, Donald Trump won 37% of Arizona's Latino vote. The most ever for a Republican.
