Bloomberg donates $500,000 to group registering Latinos to vote

Michael Bloomberg has donated $500,000 to an effort to help register Latinos to vote as the former New York City mayor plods on with his efforts to defeat President Trump after ending his own 2020 bid.

Bloomberg announced Thursday morning he gave the funds to Voto Latino to help it register 500,000 new voters this cycle. The effort is part of the Hispanic advocacy group’s larger push to enfranchise 1 million young Latino voters across Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin, among other key states, by November.

“President Trump has spent four years attacking and slandering Latino communities, but in November, Latinos will have a chance to make their voices heard,” Bloomberg said in a statement. “We need to make sure that Latinos who are eligible to vote are registered and that we get them to the polls – and I’m supporting Voto Latino to help achieve both goals.”

The endorsement is part of a wider effort by Bloomberg to use his vast personal fortune to boost turnout among key voting demographics. The former mayor has endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden in the presidential race and has made public his treasure trove of advertisements hammering President Trump, but also donated $2 million to a nonprofit working to register black voters ahead of November’s general election.

Democrats are hoping to juice turnout among voters of color after African Americans and Hispanics came out in low numbers to support former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over Trump in 2016, in part contributing to her loss that year.

Voto Latino said it has already made gains in its efforts to increase turnout among Hispanics, saying in a statement it has registered more than 81,000 citizens, provided 13,000 rides to the polls, and made more than 88,000 voter contacts to date. It added that 75 percent of new voters registered are between 18 to 34 years old. 

Voto Latino President Maria Teresa Kumar expressed confidence that young Latinos would be motivated to go to the polls in November over Trump’s harsh rhetoric on immigration.

“Four million young people who heard the president call their loved ones criminals and rapists have come of age since those terrible remarks and will be eligible to cast a vote for the very first time this November. Bloomberg’s investment allows Voto Latino to further educate, engage and empower the Latinx community to register to vote and turn out to the polls,” said Kumar. “This election will be a referendum on the politics of hate and divisiveness.”