Week 5 of NALEO Tracking Poll Says 61% of Latinos More Enthusiastic About Voting in 2020 Than in 2016

By:
Oct 6, 2020
10:27 AM

Erik (HASH) Hersman/Flickr

The fifth week of the 2020 NALEO Educational Fund’s Latino Weekly Tracking Poll conducted by Latino Decisions said that 61% of Latino registered voters are more enthusiastic about voting in the 2020 election than the 2016 election, according to Tuesday morning media release about the poll.

The release also noted that “55 percent of women say they are more enthusiastic about voting in 2020 than they were in 2016, while 67 percent of men feel the same.

The latest tracking poll of 500 Latino registered votes was conducted from September 30 to October 3. It has a margin of error of +/- 4.9 percent. The first four weeks of the nine-week tracking poll included 400 per week and by the end of the poll, 3,700 unique Latino voters will be asked about the candidates for President and Vice President of the United States, how they plan to vote in November, and their feelings about major issues facing the country.

Here are the key findings of the poll, with aggregated data that takes into account Weeks 1-5:

  • 69 percent of women plan on voting for Vice President Joe Biden compared to 64 percent of men
    • 67 percent of all survey respondents plan on voting for Vice President Joe Biden, and 23 percent plan on voting for President Donald Trump
    • Over half (53 percent) of all survey respondents who identify as independent/other say they plan on voting for Vice President Joe Biden, and 21 percent plan on voting for President Donald Trump
  • 63 percent of respondents view Vice President Joe Biden favorably, and 29 percent view him unfavorably with the following breakdowns by gender:
    • Women
      • 63 percent: favorable
      • 27 percent: unfavorable
    • Men
      • 63 percent: favorable
      • 31 percent: unfavorable
  • 27 percent of respondents view President Donald Trump favorably, and 69 percent view him unfavorably with the following breakdowns by gender:
    • Women
      • 23 percent: favorable
      • 71 percent: unfavorable
    • Men
      • 31 percent: favorable
      • 66 percent: unfavorable
  • 41 percent of women say they are following news about the presidential election very closely, whereas 50 percent of men say the same
  • 74 percent of respondents say they are almost certain they will vote in 2020, and 61 percent say they are more enthusiastic about voting in 2020 than they were in 2016
    • 55 percent of women say they are more enthusiastic about voting in 2020 than they were in 2016, while 67 percent of men feel the same
  • Health, racism and discrimination, and jobs have continued to be the most important issues among survey respondents, with the following breakdown:
    • COVID-19: 48 percent
    • Lowering healthcare costs: 30 percent
    • Racism and discrimination: 27 percent
    • Jobs and wages: 25 percent
  • Vice President Joe Biden leads President Donald Trump with respect to whom respondents trust in handling the following issues:
    • Access to affordable healthcare
      • Biden (64 percent)
      • Trump (18 percent)
    • Improving the economy
      • Biden (56 percent)
      • Trump (28 percent)
    • Bringing the country together
      • Biden (62 percent)
      • Trump (18 percent)

The tracking poll’s release also share some additional findings:

  • With Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s passing, 68 percent of survey respondents say that the Senate should wait until after the election to let the next president make the nomination for her replacement
    • 32 percent say the Senate should vote on President Trump’s nominee
  • Survey respondents continue to reveal shifting preferences toward voting in person with over half (53 percent) expressing such preference and 47 percent expressing a preference to vote by mail
  • Survey respondents reveal a trend toward voters becoming more familiar with how to request a mail-in-ballot, with 73 percent (the highest point in the survey) saying they are familiar with how to do so
  • Down slightly from last week, three in ten (30 percent) respondents say they do not trust that mail-in-ballots will be correctly delivered back to county elections departments
    • Among respondents who plan to vote in person, 41 percent intend to vote early before November 3
    • For those who do plan to vote by mail, 79 percent plan on voting right away
  • 80 percent of survey respondents said they discussed politics with family and friends
  • 72 percent (up four points from last week) of survey respondents say they encouraged family or friends to register to vote
  • For the first time, a majority (52 percent) of respondents say they have been contacted by a political party, campaign, or other organization
    • Of those who said they had been contacted, 63 percent (up four points from last week) indicate someone from the Democratic Party contacted them, 33 percent (down four points from last week) indicate it was someone from the Republican Party, and 24 percent (down one point) indicate it was someone from a non-partisan or civic organization
  • In addition to the 31 percent of survey respondents who say they know someone who has died from COVID-19, 25 percent say they have had trouble getting access to food, medicine, or basic household needs, as a result of the pandemic, and 40 percent say they had to use savings or retirement money to pay for expenses
    • Nearly three in ten (28 percent) survey respondents have lost their job as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic
  • 90 percent of survey respondents who say they have completed the census with half (50 percent) saying they have responded online

The full toplines are below:

Editor’s Note: Mattt Barreto is a co-founder of Latino Decisions and was hired by the Biden campaign “to direct polling and focus group research for Latino voters,” as noted by his website. He has gone on record with Latino Rebels to say that he is not working on or involved with any other Latino Decisions work during his time with the Biden campaign.