Latino Voter Turnout Could Break Records

Latino voter turnout could break records in California

Deborah Netburn

(LA Times Graphics)

Early exit polls suggest Latino voters are casting ballots in record numbers in California.

As of midday Tuesday, the percentage of those voting in California who identified themselves as Latino was about 3 in 10, according to exit polls conducted by Edison Research. 

That's a 50% jump from the 2012 election, when Latinos made up 22% of total voters.

Latinos make up 39% of the population in California and are the largest ethnic group in the state. At the polls, however, they are typically underrepresented compared with other minority groups.

A study by UC Davis' California Civic Engagement Project found that about 20% of voters in the state’s primary election this year were Latino. That was the highest proportion of Latino voters in a California primary in the last decade.

Early polling data also found that 12.6% of California voters are Asian, 5.7% are black, and 47.9% are white.