Tu voto cuenta: Non-partisan campaign urges Hispanic voters to be counted

BRANDON, Fla - Both presidential campaigns have made their pitches to try to win over Latino voters. In this election, they make up the country's largest minority group with 32 million eligible to vote. 

Hispanic Federation Florida voter help hotline: 1-844-HF-AYUDA or 1-844-43-29832

Monday, there was one final push for votes. But, it wasn't from any particular campaign. It was a grassroots effort to get Central Florida's Latino community out to the polls. 

The non-profit Hispanic Federation Florida has spent months encouraging and preparing local Latino voters for the election. Monday, they planned a caravan through Latino neighborhoods in Brandon, playing music honking horns, and most importantly, reminding them that "tu voto cuenta" or "your vote counts."

"Making sure that people feel that they are included, that they are invited to be part of this conversation," explained Frankie Miranda, President of Hispanic Federation Florida.

The Hispanic Federation, based in New York, organized a non-partisan, get out the vote (GOTV) campaign to reach Latino voters along the all-important I-4 corridor, encouraging half a million people via text, phone call, door hangers and honks.

"Already we are at the same level of participation in early voting that we were in 2016," Miranda said.

A record 32 million Hispanics are eligible to vote in this election. That's 13% of all U.S. voters. In Florida, 2.5 million Latinos, 17% of the state's total, are registered according to Pew Research Center. That's up from 2 million in 2016.

"The next person that is going be for the next four years in the White House - the current president or is it going to be a new president - is going to be decided by the Latino vote," Miranda said.

"History is going to be made from this election," said Linda Perez with Boricuas de Corazon Inc.

Boricuas de Corazon Inc co-hosted Monday's caravan. The Brandon-based disaster relief foundation brought more than 200 families from Puerto Rico to the Bay Area after Hurricane Maria. "We registered all of them and this is going to be the first time they are going to be voting for the president. They are very excited," Perez said.

Volunteers don't care who gets their vote, just as long as it's counted.

"This election is very important," Perez said. "We don't want people that are fighting. We want people united."

Perez stressed, "You need to come and vote, not just for you but for your whole entire family."

The Hispanic Federation's efforts continue on election day. They'll be at several polling sites handing out water and snacks to keep voters' energy up. They have a hotline set up for any voters who have questions or run into problems. You can reach them at 1-844-HF-AYUDA or 1-844-43-29832.