Latino voter perspective on voting, vote by mail, and the current national races

On behalf of VPC, Latino Decisions implemented a battleground state poll of 1,552 Latinos in Arizona Florida, Colorado, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Texas. The poll ran from August 8-14 of 2020. Respondents are comprised mainly of registered voters (85%) with some eligible to vote, but not yet registered (15%). Overall margin of error is +/- 2.5 and 6.4 in each state. 

Issues
For Latinos, the top issue in this election is increasing access and reducing costs of healthcare. The coronavirus pandemic has put greater pressure on access to care, as Latinos face major health effects. Beyond the pandemic, Latinos cite discrimination and racism as a top issue of concerns, both immigrant rights, as well as racism against Black people. 

Big Concerns
The safety and reliability of vote by mail is an important concern for Latino voters this election given the realities of COVID-19. Latinos hold a range of views regarding vote by mail, many want to know more about vote by mail, but currently do not fully trust the process. Despite their own views, an overwhelming majority of Latinos believe that people should be able to decide whether or not they would like to vote by mail. Latinos remain concerned about possibly contracting coronavirus it they vote in person.

Impact of Harris
The survey was in the field almost an equal number of days before and after the announcement of Senator Kamala Harris as the Democratic vice presidential candidate. Prior research has shown Harris to be popular among Latinos. When we split the data by interview date, those people interview up through the morning of Tuesday August 11th versus those people interviewed in the afternoon of the 11th or later, there is a noticeable bump in support for the Democratic ticket among Latinos, going from +33 Biden to +48 Biden.