This month many Californians received their ballot by mail and the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) is ready to share information and support older adults so they can express their voice.
Luis Campillo, AARP regional director in Los Angeles, stressed that regardless of whether they are members or not, the organization will fight for older adults.
“AARP fights for them every day,” Campillo explained. “Not just here in California, but all over the country.”
He adds that the organization currently focuses on fighting for things that affect older adults such as: ensuring affordable housing, better transportation options, more walkable sidewalks, social programs to support social connectivity and nutrition support.
Since 1958, the AARP organization has championed senior priorities and has members in every congressional district in the United States.
The nonprofit organization is 100 percent nonpartisan and does not support or contribute to political candidates, parties or campaigns.
On the website aarp.com/cavota, the organization has information about the elections: key dates, how to vote in California, how to register to vote and ways to vote.
Campillo recognizes that older adults tend to vote more than any other group and it is important for candidates to be aware of their needs.
“In the last midterm elections, people 50 years old and older represented approximately 61% of the electorate and we know that in the last presidential election, here in California, they represented 50%,” Campillo said. “We know that they will be the ones who will make the difference in the elections.”
In late 2023, AARP conducted the statewide ‘She’s the Difference in California’ survey that explored the priorities and concerns of women voters age 40 and older.
More than 1,600 participants, including 243 Latina voters, were included in the study.
The investigation explored views on electoral and voting priorities, housing, long-term care, financial security and federal programs such as Medicare and Social Security.
They found that Latinas in California are concerned about a wide variety of issues including: jobs and the economy (90%), voting rights (89%), inflation and price increases (89%), housing costs (86%), and education (86%).
The AARP organization highlights that the priorities of Latinas are similar to women in general, but Latinas give higher priority to the cost of housing, taxes and immigration, compared to the rest of the women over 40 years of age in California .
The survey also found that 47% of Latinas have financial difficulties, while 41% live comfortably, but they are not increasing their savings and only 10% are doing so.
When evaluating a candidate, 91% of Latinas say that the candidates’ values are very important, followed by their experience, 80%, and the political party or ideology they represent, 76%.
Additionally, less than half say a candidate’s family, personal attributes and religion are very important factors.
In early October, the AARP organization published an interview with presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump focused on the topics of Social Security, health insurance, caregiving and other issues affecting older adults.
In response to a question about the social security deficit expected over the next 10 years, the candidates explained their different solutions.
Trump:
“We will protect it with growth. I don’t want to do anything that has to do with aging. I won’t do it. As you know, I was there for four years and never thought about doing it. I’m not going to do anything with Social Security…”
Harris:
“The way we are going to deal with this to make sure that the resources and therefore the benefits of the Social Security program are there for seniors, is by having billionaires and large corporations pay their fair share in taxes and use that money to protect and strengthen Social Security in the long term.”
Although presidential elections are very important, Campillo says it is even more important to participate in local elections.
“Many of us are thinking about the candidates for president when in reality there are so many candidates at the local or state level who have a greater impact on our lives,” Campillo said.
“It is important that we are more involved and vote even when it is not a presidential election,” he added.