MINNEAPOLIS — This election season is showing record high voter turnouts across the country and here within the state.
"We're hearing a lot about reclaiming the soul of the nation," says Anika Robbins, CEO and President of the Anika Robbins Foundation and Black Votes Matter Minnesota.
“Black voters were more galvanized this year than in previous years," Robbins said.
Black voters make up about 12.5% of the national electorate nationwide. Robbins said the latest presidential election results shows a clear divide within the country. “We’re basically a country with two personalities at this point,” Robbins said.
"What we are seeing is a ground swelling of first time Latino voters, across the state,” Copal Minnesota's Ryan Perez said.
Latino voters mark the fastest growing voter population with more than 13% of eligible voters.
Perez said he saw more younger Latinos pledging to vote than in previous years. “Coronavirus is the top issue,” Perez said. “Voters who say I lost my job, I don't have health care access, my family is being hit hard, I can't get access to masks.”
Robbins said she wants to see higher Black voter turnout, while many voters are still on the fence about both candidates.
"When we look back at all of the uprisings this year, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and all of the other lives lost, we can't go back to business as usual, and that's really where the discontent is coming from in Black community and other pursuers of justice,” Robbins said.
Both are hoping more voters continue to turnout, to bridge the gap. “I want to get to a place where we are putting forth leaders in our community and we are voting towards something,” Perez said.