Non-profit

Voto Latino

Website:

votolatino.org/

Location:

Washington, DC

Tax ID:

45-5477218

Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(4)

President:

Maria Teresa Kumar

Formation:

2004

Type:

Voter mobilization group

Budget (2019):

Revenue: $627,106

Expenses: $346,185

Assets: $670,177

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Voto Latino (also known as the Voto Latino Action Fund) is a left-of-center voter mobilization group targeted at Latino voters. Co-founded by Maria Theresa Kumar and actress Rosario Dawson, Voto Latino has registered hundreds of thousands of voters since 2004. The organization also advocates for abortion through its advertising and grants. Voto Latino’s campaigns and advertisements have often featured Hispanic celebrities from film, television, and music, including Wilmer Valderrama and America Ferrara, both of whom are on the organization’s board.

In 2018, Voto Latino pledged to spend $7 million to register 1 million voters for the 2020 election. However, as of September 2020, Voto Latino had spent $18 million to register 300,000 voters. Voto Latino fell short of its target despite reporting a surge in registrations after the death of George Floyd and the start of the ensuing nationwide protests. The group set a revised target of 500,000 voters by Election Day.

Voto Latino has a 501(c)(3) sister group, the Voto Latino Foundation.

History

Voto Latino was launched in 2004 by Maria Teresa Kumar, actress Rosario Dawson and marketer Phil Colon. Dawson announced the launch of the organization at MTV Studios during a special event attended by actor John Leguizamo and singers Nina Sky and Romeo Santos. 1

In 2006, Voto Latino launched Text2Represent, the first texting-based voter registration initiative. They supported the campaign with YouTube videos featuring Nina Sky, Pitbull, and Chingo Bling. 2

In 2007, Voto Latino launched the Voto Latino Action Awards to honor high-profile supporters of the organization, including Wilmer Valderrama, Normann Lear, and Jeanette Acosta. In 2008, Dawson and Valderrama appeared in La Pasion de la Decision, a web series produced by Voto Latino and production company Declare Yourself to encourage more Latino voting. 3

In 2010, Voto Latino launched Be Counted, a campaign to encourage Latinos to complete the 2010 census. Voto Latino claims the campaign resulted in $150 million in federal spending on Latino citizens. 4

The same year, Voto Latino launched United We Win, a get-out-the-vote campaign opposed to Arizona SB 1070, a bill which required Arizona law enforcement to ask immigrants to show proof of legal status during any police encounter. The campaign generated 10,000 voters, and involved advertisements featuring Dawson, Jessica Alba, Eva Longoria, and Common. Voto Latino also worked with MSNBC to produce Beyond Borderlines, a two-hour television special on immigration that was nominated for an Emmy. 5

In 2012, Voto Latino launched Make It Count, another voter mobilization campaign. The initiative’s advertisements featured Valderrama, Demi Lovato, Michael Peña, Rafael Amaya, and Rob Huffman. 6

In 2013, Voto Latino joined the “I’m Ready for Immigration Reform” campaign to advocate for more liberal immigration policies. Other participants in the campaign included the AFL-CIO, APALA, the League of Young Voters, the NAACP, and Rock the Vote. 7

In 2014, Voto Latino worked with the MacArthur Foundation to launch the VL Innovators Challenge, a technology competition for solving problems in the Latino community. Also in 2014, Voto Latino re-launched United We Win, this time in response to the alleged increase in police shootings of racial minorities. Voto Latino also launched the “Yo Soy Health” campaign which supported sex education in school and more permissive social norms toward abortion. 8

From 2004 to 2014, Voto Latino claims that it registered about 325,000 voters. 9

In 2015, Voto Latino partnered with Pro Bono Net and the Immigration Advocates Network on Citizenshipworks, a system to assist immigrants in the process of attaining citizenship. 10

In 2016, Voto Latino launched VoterPal, a phone app which quickly registers voters with just a driver’s license. For the 2016 election, Voto Latino registered 177,218 voters, adding up to more than half a million since its founding in 2004. 11

For the 2018 midterm elections, Voto Latino registered 202,399 voters, of whom it claims 77% voted. 12

2020 Election

In 2018, Voto Latino announced the launch of “Somos Mas,” which planned to spend $7 million on voter registration efforts for the 2020 election with the intention of registering 1 million new voters. 13 Somos Mas also ran a secondary campaign encourage Latinos to complete the 2020 census. 14

In October 2019, left-wing U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) appeared in a video for Voto Latino after she received a birthday card from the organization signed by 10,000 supporters. 15

In January 2020, Voto Latino entered a $1 million partnership with clothing retailer Steve Madden to set up voter registration booths at all 81 store locations. 16

As of September 2020, Voto Latino had raised $18 million for the 2020 election but had only registered 300,000 voters. They now aim to register 500,000 in total by the election. 17 Voto Latino’s voter registration efforts have primarily targeted young Latino voters, especially in the wake of the protests triggered by the police-custody death of George Floyd. 18 In the ten days after his death, Voto Latino registered 2,750% more voters than during the ten days before his death,19 and the group said that it registered 97,000 voters in June. 20

Impact Council

In September 2020, Voto Latino launched the Impact Council to increase civic engagement among Latinos. The council has 150 members consisting of celebrities, businesspeople, and politicians, including Rosario Dawson, Wilmer Valderrama, Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldana, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro (D-TX), California Secretary of State Alex Padilla (D), and U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV). 21

Adios Sinema

In January 2022, Voto Latino Action Fund launched “Adios Sinema,” a campaign to defeat Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) in the 2024 Democratic primaries with a six-figure ad buy. Sen. Sinema was censured by the Arizona Democratic Party after she voted against limiting the supermajority filibuster rule in the U.S. Senate. The VLAF claims Sen. Sinema’s position would “allow opponents of voting rights to abuse senate rules in order to rig elections.” 22 23

Political Positions

Though Voto Latino focuses on voter outreach, the organization’s website describes its left-of-center and left-wing political positions. Voto Latino supports increased government control over health care, government mandates for paid sick leave, increased gun control, more liberalized immigration, an increased minimum wage, laws to racially integrate public schools, student loan forgiveness, and more access to abortion. 24

Voto Latino Action Fund provides resources concerning its policy positions, including connections to resources to support Latino business owners, contact for legal counsel for immigration, and guidelines for how Latino LGTBQ individuals can come out. 25

Leadership

Since Voto Latino’s establishment, Maria Teresa Kumar has served as both president and CEO. Kumar started her career as an aide to then-U.S. Representative Vic Fazio (D-CA). 26 While working for Voto Latino, Kumar has also been a regular political commenter on MSNBC and co-hosted “Changing America,” an MSNBC web show. 27 She has sat on the boards of Planned Parenthood, EMILY’s List, and the Latino Leaders Network. She is a “Prime Mover” of the Hunt Alternative Fund, a team member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum, 28 and an Aspen Institute scholar. 29 30 31

Voto Latino’s board is staffed with numerous lobbyists and policy advocates. Ingrid Duran is the co-founder and CEO of lobbying firm D&P Creative Strategies. She previously worked as the CEO of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, and ran the Washington office of NALEO. Eve Maldonado O’Toole is the leader of Holland & Knight’s Local Government Group and Principal of Evolve Strategies LLC. Brian Stansbury is a partner in King & Spalding LLP. Alfredo Vidal is the president of Vidal Group LLC. 32

After suspending his Democratic presidential candidacy, former Obama administration Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro (D-TX) became a senior advisor for Voto Latino. 33

Voto Latino lists numerous celebrities among its “supporters,” including Jessica Alba, Common, Fat Joe, Luis Guzman, John Leguizamo, Eva Longoria, George Lopez, Jennifer Lopez, Demi Lovato, Diego Luna, Edward James Olmos, Pitbull, Robert Rodriguez, and Amy Smart. 34

Grants

In 2018, Voto Latino (a 501(c)(4)) transferred $100,000 to the Voto Latino Foundation, its affiliated charitable arm. 35 Also in 2018, Voto Latino gave $400,000 to NARAL Pro-Choice America, an abortion advocacy group. 36

References

  1. Kantorski, Kathy. “Rosario Dawson Catalyzes Latino Civic Engagement.” Hispanic Executive. March 3, 2020. Accessed September 22, 2020. https://hispanicexecutive.com/rosario-dawson-voto-latino/.
  2. “About.” Voto Latino. Accessed September 22, 2020. https://votolatino.org/about/.
  3. “About.” Voto Latino. Accessed September 22, 2020. https://votolatino.org/about/.
  4. “About.” Voto Latino. Accessed September 22, 2020. https://votolatino.org/about/.
  5. “About.” Voto Latino. Accessed September 22, 2020. https://votolatino.org/about/.
  6. “About.” Voto Latino. Accessed September 22, 2020. https://votolatino.org/about/.
  7. “About.” Voto Latino. Accessed September 22, 2020. https://votolatino.org/about/.
  8. “About.” Voto Latino. Accessed September 22, 2020. https://votolatino.org/about/.
  9. “About.” Voto Latino. Accessed September 22, 2020. https://votolatino.org/about/.
  10. “Citizenshipworks Links with Voto Latino.” Highbeam Research. March 14, 2015. Accessed September 23, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20160911152525/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-37756955.html.
  11. “About.” Voto Latino. Accessed September 22, 2020. https://votolatino.org/about/.
  12. “About.” Voto Latino. Accessed September 22, 2020. https://votolatino.org/about/.
  13. Tatum, Sophie. “Voto Latino announces goal to register 1 million voters by 2020.” CNN. June 12, 2018. Accessed September 23, 2020. https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/12/politics/voto-latino-voter-registration/index.html.
  14. “About.” Voto Latino. Accessed September 22, 2020. https://votolatino.org/about/.
  15. “Voto Latino Surprises AOC for her Birthday.” Voto Latino. October 18, 2019. Accessed September 23, 2020. https://votolatino.org/why-vote/.
  16. “About.” Voto Latino. Accessed September 22, 2020. https://votolatino.org/about/.
  17. “Voto Latino Foundation Launches 2020 Impact Council with Chairs Sec. Julian Castro, Rosario Dawson, Selena Gomez, Wilmer Valderrama, Sen. Catherine Cortez Mastro, Zoe Saldana, Sec. Alex Padilla, and Maria Teresa Kumar.” Voto Latino. September 15, 2020. Accessed September 23, 2020. https://votolatino.org/media/press-releases/voto-latino-foundation-launches-2020-impact-council-with-chairs-sec-julian-castro-rosario-dawson-selena-gomez-wilmer-valderrama-sen-catherine-cortez-masto-zoe-saldana-sec-alex-padilla-and-mar/.
  18. “About.” Voto Latino. Accessed September 22, 2020. https://votolatino.org/about/.
  19. Goodkind, Nicole. “Voto Latino has seen a 2,750% jump in voter registration since the killing of George Floyd.” Fortune. June 12, 2020. Accessed September 23, 2020. https://fortune.com/2020/06/12/voter-registration-voto-latino-george-floyd/.
  20. Bastain, Rebekah. “Trailblazers: Maria Teresa Kumar, Co-founding President And CEO of Voto Latino.” Forbes. August 11, 2020. Accessed September 23, 2020. https://www.forbes.com/sites/rebekahbastian/2020/08/11/trailblazers-maria-teresa-kumar-voto-latino/#33d572ea48d8.
  21. “Voto Latino Foundation Launches 2020 Impact Council with Chairs Sec. Julian Castro, Rosario Dawson, Selena Gomez, Wilmer Valderrama, Sen. Catherine Cortez Mastro, Zoe Saldana, Sec. Alex Padilla, and Maria Teresa Kumar.” Voto Latino. September 15, 2020. Accessed September 23, 2020. https://votolatino.org/media/press-releases/voto-latino-foundation-launches-2020-impact-council-with-chairs-sec-julian-castro-rosario-dawson-selena-gomez-wilmer-valderrama-sen-catherine-cortez-masto-zoe-saldana-sec-alex-padilla-and-mar/.
  22. “Voto Latino Launches Adiós, Sinema! Campaign to Hold Senator Accountable.” Voto Latino. January 25, 2022. Accessed May 21, 2022. https://votolatino.org/media/press-releases/voto-latino-launches-adios-sinema-campaign-to-hold-senator-accountable/.
  23. Treisman, Rachel. “Arizona Democrats have censured Kyrsten Sinema over her pro-filibuster vote.” NPR. January 20, 2022. Accessed May 21, 2022. https://www.npr.org/2022/01/22/1075088298/kyrsten-sinema-censure-arizona-democrats-filibuster-vote?t=1653126747290.
  24. “Understand the Issues.” Voto Latino. Accessed September 23, 2020. https://votolatino.org/understand/.
  25.  “Understanding the Issues.” Voto Latino. Accessed May 21, 2022. https://votolatino.org/understand/.
  26. Alexander, Keri Lee. “Maria Teresa Kumar.” National Women’s History Museum. Accessed September 23, 2020. https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/maria-teresa-kumar.
  27. “Maria Teresa Kumar.” LinkedIn. Accessed September 23, 2020. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariateresakumar/.
  28. “Maria Teresa Kumar.” World Economic Forum. Accessed May 18, 2022. https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:-imDnnXFk5cJ:https://www.weforum.org/people/maria-teresa-kumar+&cd=26&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ro.
  29. “Maria Teresa Kumar.” Latino Justice. Accessed May 18, 2022. https://www.latinojustice.org/en/maria-teresa-kumar.
  30. “Maria Teresa Kumar.” National Women’s History Museum. Accessed May 18, 2022. https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/maria-teresa-kumar.
  31. “Maria Teresa Kumar.” LinkedIn. Accessed May 18, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariateresakumar/.
  32. “Team.” Voto Latino. Accessed September 23, 2020. https://votolatino.org/about/team/.
  33. King, Maya. “Julian Castro to join Voto Latino as senior advisor.” Politico. May 22, 2020. Accessed September 23, 2020. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/05/22/julian-castro-to-join-voto-latino-as-senior-advisor-274794.
  34. “Team.” Voto Latino. Accessed September 23, 2020. https://votolatino.org/about/team/.
  35. “Voto Latino Form 990.” ProPublica. Accessed September 22, 2020. https://apps.irs.gov/pub/epostcard/cor/455477218_201812_990O_2020061117187991.pdf.
  36. “Voto Latino Form 990.” ProPublica. Accessed September 22, 2020. https://apps.irs.gov/pub/epostcard/cor/455477218_201812_990O_2020061117187991.pdf.

Directors, Employees & Supporters

  1. Natalie Montelongo
    Former National Field Director
  2. Ezra Reese
    Consultant

Donation Recipients

  1. Nonprofit VOTE (Non-profit)
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Voto Latino

1710 RHODE ISLAND AVE NW STE 600
Washington, DC 20036-3124