Sacramento, CA…Less than a week out from the November 3 Presidential Election, Governor Gavin Newsom and global superstar and activist Becky G teamed up with YouTube for an exclusive “Plática,” or conversation, about the importance of the youth and Latinx vote in shaping America’s future. The two urged Latinx Gen Zers, Millennials and Gen Xers to turn out in the upcoming election and discussed how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted diverse communities throughout the state and nation.

Governor Newsom and Becky G discuss the importance of the youth and Latinx vote in the upcoming election

“As a Latinx community they talk about our numbers so much, the millions of first time voters that we’ll be having, this election will be so exciting but I want them to think about more than just numbers,” said Becky G during the conversation. “Our numbers don’t just matter, our lives matter.”

The Governor shared his thoughts on the importance of voting: “Voting is an emotional experience but we take it for granted and I hope now more than ever that people’s eyes are opening up that we shouldn’t. All the voter suppression, the efforts to get rid of people from the voting rolls, efforts on voter ID, that’s stuff we fought against for decades. Your parents, my grandparents. This next generation, that can all go away like that. We’ve got to take that back. It’s so foundational to a functioning democracy…and by the way, in California we’re making it easier than ever…we were the first state during this pandemic to announce that we’re mailing out a ballot to every registered voter in the State of California.”

The Governor and Becky G also discussed the impact of COVID-19 on diverse communities, particularly the Latinx community, and the targeted actions the state is taking to address the disproportionate impact on communities of color. Latinos comprise an estimated 39 percent of the state population but make up 61 percent of all total COVID-19 cases in California and 49 percent of all COVID-19 deaths, according to the California Department of Public Health. In August, California implemented a health equity metric in its Blueprint for a Safer Economy to focus on preventing the spread of COVID-19 among disproportionately impacted Californians. This builds on the state’s efforts throughout the pandemic, including first-in-the-nation disaster relief assistance for immigrants, expanded workers’ compensation and paid sick leave, renter protections and making available temporary isolation shelter for agricultural workers.

“COVID-19 has definitely hit every community in this country but sadly not equally, and it has definitely impacted disproportionately the Latinx community across the nation. With California being our home, I think myself and my audience, what’s continuing to be done to tackle the issues and how are those plans moving along or evolving as the pandemic continues…we don’t really know when this is over,” Becky G said during the discussion.

“No other state is doing more than we’re doing to support our diverse communities. Period, full stop. That’s an objective fact,” said Governor Newsom. “What’s also an objective fact is that we aren’t nearly doing enough…all of the disparities that pre-existed this pandemic have just been exposed during this pandemic. All of those disparities, in terms of outcomes, opportunities across the spectrum…those are manifest in the Latino community in particular.”

Becky G wrapped the discussion with a call to action for Latinx voters: “Para toda mi gente watching this awesome conversation, get out and vote. Let’s do this. Let’s show up and be present…let’s be engaged citizens. We got this!”

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