Improving representation for Hispanic and Latino Americans
A version of this post was originally published in 2023. It has been updated to include new information and data.
Hispanic and Latino Americans are the largest ethnic minority in the country, making up around 20% of the population. Though Congress has grown more demographically diverse in recent years, Hispanic and Latino Americans still only make up about 10% of representatives – far less than their share of the population. This Hispanic Heritage Month offers an opportunity to discuss reforms that can lead to better representation for the Hispanic and Latino community.
Ranked choice voting (RCV) lowers barriers for underrepresented communities by allowing non-traditional candidates to run without “spoiling” or “wasting” votes. RCV also allows voters to express their true preferences without fear of splitting the vote within their ideological or demographic blocs.
Below, we summarize data on how Hispanic and Latino voters and candidates have engaged with RCV – and how proportional RCV could have an even greater impact for these communities.
Data on Hispanic and Latino voters and candidates, and RCV
- In the 2025 New York City primary, 97% of Latino poll respondents found their RCV ballot simple to complete. In the mayoral election, they ranked more candidates than voters of other backgrounds.
- A 2024 poll showed support for RCV is higher among voters of color than among White voters, with 61% support among Latino voters.
- A 2024 FairVote report found that, in all single-winner RCV elections from 2004-2023, 70% of Latino candidates earned more votes than expected when other Latino candidates were eliminated – suggesting a favorable transfer of support within their community.
- Additionally, the report found that winning Hispanic and Latino candidates grow their vote totals between the first and final rounds of RCV at a higher rate than winning White candidates. This indicates they are effectively using RCV to build coalitions – earning backup-choice support from voters ranking other candidates Number 1.
Case study: RCV in the Bay Area
Five cities in California’s Bay Area use ranked choice voting. With almost 350 RCV elections stretching back over 20 years, there is a wealth of data from the Bay Area on RCV and how different demographic groups engage with the system.
In California Bay Area cities that have implemented RCV, the share of elections won by Latino candidates has more than doubled. Some of the notable winners in RCV elections include:
- Jesse Arreguín, who in 2016 was elected as the first Latino mayor of Berkeley
- Myrna Melgar, who in 2020 was elected as the first Latina member of San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors who had not previously been appointed by the mayor
- Robin López, who in 2022 was elected to the Albany City Council, and in 2024 became the city’s first Latino mayor
Several studies have indicated that voters of color tend to rank more candidates than White voters. For instance, in Oakland’s 2022 mayoral election, Hispanic and Latino voters ranked more candidates than White voters on average.
San Francisco Board Supervisor Myrna Melgar shared her experience running in, and winning, an RCV election in 2020:
RCV provided an incentive for me to campaign beyond my likely base. I canvassed neighborhoods in every section of the district and engaged with voters who I already knew preferred another candidate… This led to my historic win as… the first Latina elected to the city’s Board of Supervisors without having been appointed by the mayor first. That felt good for the Latino community, especially because my district is not majority Latino. It was proof that one of us could win, even outside of the predominantly Latino neighborhoods.
Proportional RCV would have even greater impact
Though Hispanic and Latino communities have made strides in single-winner RCV elections, proportional RCV could go even further. Proportional RCV can be used at any level of government, and has been implemented in several municipalities as a voting rights remedy. FairVote advocates for proportional RCV federally via the Fair Representation Act (FRA), which would bring the voting method to Congress and increase the number of representatives Hispanic and Latino voters would have power to elect.
Currently, Hispanic and Latino communities must make up a majority of a district to elect a representative of their choice. Single-member districts can be deliberately drawn to pack minority voters into only a few districts and spread out the remaining minority voters to dilute their voting power. In Texas and Illinois, for instance, district lines are drawn for partisan advantage to the detriment of Hispanic and Latino voters.
Proportional RCV, on the other hand, would ensure Hispanic and Latino voters are fairly represented even if they are dispersed geographically. For example, in a 5-member district under the FRA, if Hispanic and Latino voters make up over 17% of the population in the district, they have power to elect at least one member of their choice.
FairVote created sample maps to show what congressional districts could look like under the FRA, and estimates that Hispanic and Latino voters would have the power to elect an additional 13 representatives across the country. That includes four additional representatives in Texas, and two each in California, Florida, and New York. Hispanic and Latino voters would gain power to elect one representative of their choice in Colorado, Illinois, and New Jersey.
Proportional ranked choice voting could also allow Hispanic and Latino voters to elect a wider variety of candidates. Of course, Hispanic and Latino voters are not monolithic, with great diversity of opinions within the community.
For instance, our FRA sample maps show that Hispanic and Latino voters in Texas’s hypothetical 1st District would have the power to elect all three of the district’s representatives, allowing for Hispanic and Latino voters with differing political views to be represented in Congress. This FRA district shows the breadth of political opinion in the Hispanic and Latino community, since we project it would elect one Republican and one Democrat, with one tossup seat.
This National Hispanic Heritage Month and throughout the year, we can promote Hispanic and Latino political representation in a number of ways. Ranked choice voting and proportional ranked choice voting offer one path to protect Hispanic and Latino voters’ rights and power to elect candidates of their choice.
