Editor’s note: This opinion piece is in response to our July 20 article “Boosting Southside turnout key to flipping seats, Dem leaders say.”
Dear COS neighbors,
Let’s talk. I’ve been an El Paso County House District 17 voter for nearly seven years now. It’s always been a heartbreaker to me that our side of town has the lowest voter turnout, but I do get it in some ways. While the Southside has many veterans and active-duty military – who also happen to be people of color – many of us are low-to-middle income households and face a struggle to thrive.
When the system seems rigged, why show up for it? With this, my conclusion has always been: “Play the game, or it plays you.” In other words, stay true to what you believe in to take action because completely disengaging is hardly ever in your favor.
Trust me, I realize that’s sometimes easier said than done. I was a Democrat since I cast my first ballot at age 18. Yet, after moving to Colorado in 2016, I’ve unaffiliated twice now due to negative experiences with the Dem party at every level – local, state and national. Let me be clear: There is a power in refusing to allow the two-party system to dominate political discourse!
I’ve witnessed firsthand the assumptions from Democrats about unaffiliated voters and the Southside as a community of color after many different roles working in support of Democratic candidates. The Democratic Party does, indeed, take the votes of people of color for granted, and the local Dem Party has made some assumptions about us in this recent Pikes Peak Bulletin report.
I deliberately identify as a Chicana, instead of “Latina” or “Hispanic,” to honor my identity as a Mexican-American woman with indigenous heritage, as well as my culture and politics. So, to me, it’s noticeably out of touch that local Dem Party leadership uses the term “Hispanic” to engage young Latine people. Due to its colonial roots, the term “Hispanic” has largely fallen out of favor with anyone under the age of 50 in our community. In fact, many of us even identify by country of origin.
So, people who want to engage us must invest in building trust through consistency and embrace that we’re not a monolith. We have beautiful complexities associated with our identities. Don’t even get me started on the border that crossed us. That’s for another opinion piece. Lol. …
It’s also rather offensive that local Dem leaders appear to assume that Latine people don’t speak English! Like damn, dude. Two-thirds of us are U.S. citizens by birth and about 13% of Latinos are naturalized U.S. citizens, according to Pew Research Center. Additionally, more than 90% of U.S.-born Hispanics were English-dominant in 2013, compared to just 8% of immigrant Latinos. [Editor’s note: A 2023 Citizen’s Project survey found language barriers were one factor in low Southside voter turnout.]
With that, I’m all for language justice and access for those who need it. But, if we’re talking about the math, it follows that the majority of the Latine voters being courted by the local party don’t necessarily require materials and engagement in Spanish, but instead are seeking genuine cultural understanding. I also hope the local Dem party plans to adequately compensate folks for all the translation work they’ll need to ensure inclusivity – especially with regard to helping people know they do not lack political power simply because they’re ineligible to vote. I have a great contact for that – hit me up!
Otherwise, it’s certainly notable to see the local Dem party recognize its failures in engaging Latine voters. This didn’t happen when my campaign found out the County Party didn’t count one of our delegate’s votes due to an error at the County Assembly this March – rather undermining that whole “every vote counts” mantra, as well as the trust of my supporters. As a former candidate, community organizer and activist myself, I know well the power and beauty of one-on-one relationships and canvassing. I agree with its general effectiveness.
However, our community sees right through the often transactional nature of how the Dem party usually approaches this work. We see you when you want our vote, but why don’t we see all of you Dems in the community standing with us when it comes to what we care about? That’s part of the problem. This doesn’t build trust and it’s inconsistent connection. Additionally, while some elders certainly deserve our respect, Dem candidates and party figureheads the same age as – or older than – the people betraying us in Congress actually pisses a lot of people off. Most voters are sick of the gerontocracy that is American politics.
Moreover, there are assumptions about unaffiliated voters being people who don’t care, or people who will likely vote Dem, when – in fact – we’re some of the voters who care the most. Many of us are unaffiliated because we cannot in good conscience be part of either party given the rot that the two-party system, and money in politics, has created in our democracy. People will continue to keep their ballots at home if they don’t feel candidates represent their interests. Or, they’ll do what I do, which is vote in the Dem primary for the candidates I truly believe will make a difference, while skipping every race – six this year – where a real choice isn’t presented, aka “undervoting.”
People desperately want elected public servants willing to propose solutions about the extremely painful economic inequity most of us are facing, along with ending the terror of possibly being abducted or murdered by ICE or other police, and the fear of running out of natural resources and quality of life because of data centers like Project Taurus.
So, I concur that increasing voter turnout through heavy grassroots engagement on the Southside might help flip CD-5, and agree that’s certainly not the only factor here. Local Dem candidates aren’t meeting the moment for voters when Yolanda Avila says people just need to educate themselves out of systemic wealth inequity, as I heard her state at a Latino community discussion last year. Jessica Killin isn’t meeting the moment when she scoffs at Democratic Socialist election wins in a conversation with me, or signs onto the wack corporate centrist “Promise to America” pledge. So, no, I don’t think CC-5 or CD-5 will flip to Dems this year.
I honestly wouldn’t mind being wrong about that! I’m truly worried about the ongoing wars – including the one against fascism, and the oligarchs backing this play for unchecked political power. Meanwhile, the Republicans seem all in on this horror show.
And, overall, I very much agree with my Councilmember, Kimberly Gold, when she said: “Voting is the pathway to changing outcomes in our daily lives and for the future.” And yet, that work goes much deeper than just centering the deadlines of the electoral calendar.
So, I’ll always meet you at the ballot box, and/or if you want a cup of coffee with a neighbor. I pledge to forever use my vote as my sword and my shield for my community. I must do this to honor all my ancestors who fought for my rights, and to leave a better world for at least seven generations after me. I hope you can join me in standing up for our beloved Southside COS together.
Jacqueline “Jax” Armendariz Unzueta is a community advocate, activist, and freedom fighter with the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado in “Armendariz v. City of CO Springs, et al.” She is also host and producer of the “Justice with Jax” podcast telling the story of the case. She is a former newspaper journalist, municipal public servant, U.S. Senate staffer, Colorado Democratic Party 2016 field organizer & 2022 voter protection deputy, plus: 2026 El Paso County Democratic Party County Commissioner Dist. 5 candidate, Latine & Indigenous Outreach Lead for 2023-2025, 2nd vice chair executive officer in 2019, state & county assembly delegate for multiple cycles and precinct captain during 2017 and 2025 terms, respectively.
