The race for the presidency is off and while a variety of Americans exercise their right to vote, the Latino population has the power to swing the election. While the millennial generation makes up the majority of voters this election, Latino voters make up 44 percent of the millennial generation. According to a Pew Research Center study, the number of Latinos eligible to vote has increased by roughly 3.2 million, or 80 percent, since 2012. The increase stemmed from U.S born Latinos that have come of voting age since the last presidential election. The same study found that 69 percent of Latinos said they were “absolutely certain” they would vote in the election. Latinos under 18-years-old have also raised their views on the election. Obed Tarango, a 17-year-old senior at Diamond Hill Jarvis High School, said he wished he was old enough to vote and called Donald Trump both selfish and racist. “I wouldn’t really like to vote for any of them but if I could, I would vote for Hillary Clinton,” Tarango said. While the poll station in Diamond Hills, Texas at the Diamond Hills Jarvis Library had a constant flow of Latino voters today, Latino voters are making an impact all around the country. Latino voters hold a strong percentage in swing states such as Arizona, Nevada, and Florida. However, more than half of all eligible Latino voters live in the non-battleground states of Texas, California, and New York.

According to the Pew study, as of 2016 a majority of Latino voters, 54 percent, view the Democratic Party as having more concern for them than the Republican Party. However, the number of Latinos that feel this way has decreased since 2012. John Garcia, a Latino TCU student, said he voted for Gary Johnson because he sides with a lot of his views, but not all. Garcia said that Clinton raised too many question marks for her to receive his vote. According to the Pew study, support for Hillary Clinton comes more enthusiastically from the older generation of Latino voters. On the contrary, 64 percent of Millennial Latinos voting for Clinton are doing so because they are against Trump rather than for Clinton. Overall, the study found that 55 percent of Latinos support Clinton. Daniel Lopez, a Diamond Hills Latino said he voted for Clinton because she seemed like the best choice. When asked his thoughts on Trump, Lopez said “I don’t think he can lead the country like that.” While many Latino’s at Diamond Hills seemed to disapprove of Trump, not all were solidified in their opinions. “I don’t know it’s kinda confusing,” Albno Barboza, a Diamond Hills resident, said. “Mixed reviews, mixed arguments, mixed everything.” Only tonight’s polls will tell how the Latino vote affected the election.