Washington, DC – The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA), a nonpartisan coalition of major Hispanic national organizations and distinguished Hispanic leaders from throughout the nation [for a list of member organizations, go to http://www.bateylink.org/nhlaboard.htm], today launched “It Starts with You,”a joint national, multimedia, and nonpartisan civic engagement and voter mobilization campaign urging Latinos to vote in the upcoming election in November.

“NHLA members have expressed growing concern over the politicization of the immigration issue and the demonization of Latinos in the 2006 campaign. We are saying ‘¡Ya Basta!’ (enough already!) to elected officials who engage in this kind of bashing and will work to educate Latino voters about these issues,” stated Ron Blackburn-Moreno, NHLA Chair.

“These national Latino organizations are uniting to send a clear message to our community: It starts with you; do your part and vote, for your family, your community, and your country. And if you are unable to vote, ask your friends and family who are eligible to vote to do their part. The members of NHLA will be working together from now until Election Day to get this message out throughout the country,” stated Janet Murguía, President and CEO of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) and Chair of the “It Starts with You” media campaign.

The campaign will feature radio and television Public Service Announcements (PSAs), op-eds, and a tool kit on NHLA members’ websites to help encourage Latino voter participation and provide information to Latino voters about the issues in this election, with a special emphasis on engaging young Latino voters [see www.nclr.org/LEAP for an example]. The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund, an NHLA member, is also assisting Latino voters with information about the voting process and providing help through their toll-free, bilingual hotline, 1-888-VE-Y-VOTA (Go Vote), to those who encounter problems while voting.

“This is not just about one issue or just one group of people. What is going on affects all of us. Latinos stepped up this spring in support of immigrants and comprehensive immigration reform. Now we need them to step up to the ballot box and make a difference this November,” stated Manuel Mirabal, President of the National Puerto Rican Coalition (NPRC), a member of NHLA.

www.nclr.org/vote

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