Content: publishing "SPLLATINO01"

content/news/2021-11-30-SPLLATINO01.md

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ authors = ["Kate Huangpu"]
 blurb = "Advocates are turning to the redistricting process to secure political power, but legal and systemic roadblocks pose a significant challenge."
 byline = "Kate Huangpu of Spotlight PA"
 description = "Advocates are turning to the redistricting process to secure political power, but legal and systemic roadblocks pose a significant challenge."
+feed-exclude = false
 image = "external/t1sppnt4zcskm9d70hnc4wbjzw.jpeg"
 image-credit = "Matt Smith / For Spotlight PA"
 image-description = "Victor Martinez — owner of La Mega, a Spanish radio station located in Allentown — has become one of the most vocal Latino advocates during this year’s redistricting process."
@@ -12,19 +13,21 @@ internal-id = "SPLLATINO01"
 kicker = "Redistricting"
 modal-exclude = false
 no-index = false
+pinned = false
 published = 2021-11-30T05:00:00-05:00
 slug = "pa-redistricting-latino-representation-political-power"
+suppress-date = false
 title = "Pennsylvania Latinos work to turn huge population gains into political muscle, but still face barriers"
 topics = ["Redistricting"]
 +++
 
-<i>This article is part of a yearlong reporting project focused on redistricting and gerrymandering in Pennsylvania. It is made possible by the support of </i><a href="https://www.spotlightpa.org/"><i>Spotlight PA</i></a><i> members and </i><a href="https://votebeat.org/"><i>Votebeat</i></a><i>, a project focused on election integrity and voting access.</i>
+<i>This article is part of a yearlong reporting project focused on redistricting and gerrymandering in Pennsylvania. It is made possible by the support of </i><a href="https://www.spotlightpa.org/"><i>Spotlight PA</i></a><i> members and </i><a href="https://web.archive.org/20211101092019/https://votebeat.org/"><i>Votebeat</i></a><i>, a project focused on election integrity and voting access.</i>
 
 LEHIGH VALLEY — Over the past five years, Victor Martinez has noticed more and more Hispanic-run businesses crop up on the route he drives to work.
 
 Martinez owns La Mega, a Spanish radio station located right outside of downtown Allentown. During his commute from his Macungie home, he’s seen new restaurants, hair salons, and bodegas. One restaurant located five minutes from his station, La Bicicleta, opened only two years ago and its Venezuelan arepas are now among his mainstays.
 
-The business boom reflects the rapid growth of Pennsylvania’s Latino population, which surpassed <a href="https://www.census.gov/library/stories/state-by-state/pennsylvania-population-change-between-census-decade.html">1 million people according to the latest census</a> — a 43% increase from a decade ago. The problem, Martinez said, is that growth in population has yet to translate into a rise in power and influence at all levels of government, in particular the state legislature.
+The business boom reflects the rapid growth of Pennsylvania’s Latino population, which surpassed <a href="https://web.archive.org/20211201001917/https://www.census.gov/library/stories/state-by-state/pennsylvania-population-change-between-census-decade.html">1 million people according to the latest census</a> — a 43% increase from a decade ago. The problem, Martinez said, is that growth in population has yet to translate into a rise in power and influence at all levels of government, in particular the state legislature.
 
 <script src="https://www.spotlightpa.org/embed.js" async></script><div data-spl-embed-version="1" data-spl-src="https://www.spotlightpa.org/embeds/newsletter/"></div>
 
@@ -34,7 +37,7 @@ To that end, Martinez has become one of the most vocal Latino advocates <a href=
 
 There are more than 3 million people of color living in Pennsylvania, and these communities have powered the state’s population growth. Their gains more than offset the continued contraction of the white population, which fell by half a million during the past decade.
 
-In total, <a href="https://www.census.gov/library/stories/state-by-state/pennsylvania-population-change-between-census-decade.html">a quarter of the state’s residents now identify as non-white</a>. Yet just 10% of the General Assembly’s 253 members identify as people of color. In 2015, that number was 9%.
+In total, <a href="https://web.archive.org/20211201001917/https://www.census.gov/library/stories/state-by-state/pennsylvania-population-change-between-census-decade.html">a quarter of the state’s residents now identify as non-white</a>. Yet just 10% of the General Assembly’s 253 members identify as people of color. In 2015, that number was 9%.
 
 That’s why advocates like Martinez are increasingly getting involved. They see redistricting as an opportunity for political maps and voting power to more equitably represent the growth of certain communities.
 
@@ -106,12 +109,11 @@ Because of those hurdles, Vargas De-León has doubts that such a critical mass w
 
 In Lehigh County, advocates for Latino residents say disengagement with the political process stymies representation. Diana Robinson of Make the Road Pennsylvania, an organization dedicated to organizing working-class Latino voters, said the system works against them.
 
-Commission hearings that lacked translation, as well as <a href="https://www.mcall.com/news/pennsylvania/mc-nws-pa-spanish-mail-in-ballot-instructions-incorrect-date-20211020-fdkpr4zz5be6tob3b4wcvrq224-story.html" target="_blank">Spanish instructions to voters in Berks County that had the wrong mail ballot return date</a>, are typical examples of carelessness, Robinson said.
+Commission hearings that lacked translation, as well as <a href="https://web.archive.org/20211102044900/https://www.mcall.com/news/pennsylvania/mc-nws-pa-spanish-mail-in-ballot-instructions-incorrect-date-20211020-fdkpr4zz5be6tob3b4wcvrq224-story.html" target="_blank">Spanish instructions to voters in Berks County that had the wrong mail ballot return date</a>, are typical examples of carelessness, Robinson said.
 
 “It goes beyond just ensuring there’s Latinx representation, but also having representatives and the ability to elect representatives that also share our values,” Robinson said.
 
 Martinez remains hopeful his testimony will be reflected in the initial drafts of maps. Although the Pennsylvania Constitution sets a Jan. 12 deadline, lawmakers have <a href="https://www.spotlightpa.org/news/2021/10/pa-redistricting-mapmakers-closed-door-process/">expressed a desire to expedite the process</a> and release initial maps within the next few weeks.
 
 “If it was easy, anybody could do it,” Martinez said, referring to the commission. “That’s what they signed up for. So, we have to make sure we hold them accountable.”
 
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