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Latino vote surges in Florida and could decide election

Historic high numbers reported
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All eyes are on Florida during this election and a historic voter turnout by Latino voters could be the deciding factor. 
 
"There's very much an interest by Hispanics to go and vote in this election," said Mirta Luaces, editor of the Spanish community newspaper La Guia Gratuita. 
 

The Miami Herald found that in Florida over 560,000 Latinos voted during the early voting period. A hundred percent increase over 2012. 


"That can make the difference in the election," Luaces said. 

For many Latinos, the motivating factor came early on in the campaign when Donald Trump called some Mexicans "rapists."

 

"It's horrible the way that he spoke about Latinos and Hispanics," said Marta Kuhnel, a Cuban immigrant who came to the U.S. when she was a little girl. 

This year Kuhnel decided to campaign for Hillary Clinton after she heard what Mr. Trump said about Latinos. 
She said she saw many Hispanics come and ask how to get registered to vote this year. 


"The wall that was going to be built, that was a big motivator," Kuhnel said. 

But not all Hispanics feel the same way. Luaces said she heard from many who are supporting the Republican nominee. 
 
"They think that the economy is more important than the immigration and they will vote for him," Luaces said.
 
According to one recent poll, 60 percent of Latino voters are voting for Hillary Clinton and against Donald Trump. 
 
"Everybody (I talked to) is upset, not just in shock, they're upset," Kuhnel said. 
 
A historic election that could be decided by a historic Hispanic voter turnout.