The cut-off for voter registrations in Florida is this week and as the deadline has approached, efforts to cajole hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans to sign up for a ballot have reached fever pitch. Within Florida, the rapidly expanding Puerto Rican community along the I-4 corridor that runs from Orlando to Tampa has become the ultimate swing vote within the ultimate swing state in the 2016 campaign. “This is the new mecca for Puerto Ricans and it’s changing the electoral map,” said Betsy Franceschini, Florida director of the Hispanic Federation, which is participating in the voter drive. Despite the herculean efforts of the coalition, there remains an engagement gap with only 60% of Puerto Ricans registered compared with 80% of all Floridians. “Puerto Ricans have not heard enough from the campaigns,” said Congressman Gutiérrez.

Source: The Guardian October 11, 2016 11:01 UTC