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AARP AARP States Florida Voters

Medicare, Social Security, Lower Prescription Drug Prices Unify Older Hispanic Florida Voters Across Party Lines, Difference on Jobs & the Economy and Immigration

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MIAMI – Univision Communications Inc. (UCI), the leading media company serving Hispanic America, today announced a partnership with AARP, the nation’s largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering Americans 50 and older. The multifaceted voter engagement partnership will focus on inspiring Hispanic/Latino voters age 50 and over to “Sé la diferencia. Vota” (“Be the Difference. Vote”) in the 2018 midterm elections. The first series of polls resulting from this new partnership, conducted in Arizona, California, and Florida between Aug. 29 and Sept. 9, 2018, reveal that older Florida Hispanics’ top three issues of concern for the upcoming midterm elections are jobs and the economy, immigration, and healthcare, broken down by state as follows:

  • Jobs/Economy, 24%
  • Immigration, 13%
  • Healthcare, 10%.
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The AARP-Univision polls (download or review AARP - Univision Survey of Hispanics 50+ in Florida FINAL 9.24) also found that, across party lines, Florida 50-plus Hispanic voters want politicians in Washington to work together to strengthen and update Social Security, as well as strengthen and protect Medicare. They also worry about how divided America and Americans have become, that prices are rising faster than their income, and about access to affordable health care.

Highlights of Florida results:

  • Significant majority (97%) think it is “very or somewhat important” to strengthen Social Security so current and future generations get the benefits they earn.
  • Significant majority (96%) think it is “very or somewhat important” to strengthen and protect Medicare so current and future generations get affordable, quality health care.
  • Significant majority (93%) think it is “very or somewhat important” to support family caregivers who help make it possible for older loved ones to live independently at home.
  • Significant majority (96%) think it is “very or somewhat important” to take action to lower prescription drug prices.
  • Significant majority (89%) “strongly or somewhat agree” that Congress should pass legislation that would allow the government to negotiate drug prices.
0000016b-01b3-dd13-abeb-61ffa7420002“Older Hispanic Floridians do have their differences,” AARP Florida State Director Jeff Johnson said. “However, when it comes to protecting Social Security and Medicare, you see no party lines. It is paramount that our new Congress work to strengthen these programs so the millions of Floridians who have paid into these programs receive the benefits they have rightfully earned.”


When it comes to economic issues in Florida, older Hispanic voters express concern about their personal financial situation, with the strong majority slowly getting ahead, staying where they are, or struggling to keep up. About half are not prepared financially to live comfortably throughout their retirement years. Additionally, more than half of Hispanic 50-plus voters have cared for older loved ones, like parents or spouses, and express difficulty in keeping up with their own expenses as well as covering the cost of caregiving – the majority say they will not have enough income to also save for retirement.

“This is the first deep dive into such an important sector of the Latino voting population,” stated Lourdes Torres, Senior Vice President, Political Coverage & Special Projects, Univision News. “At such a divisive moment in our nation’s history, Latino voters over 50+ are very enthusiastic about having their voices heard regarding the issues that matter most to them. Strong opinions about President Trump and immigration top the list, according to these statewide polls.”

“Older Hispanic voters turn out to vote in force and candidates cannot afford to ignore issues that matter to a significant portion of the electorate in these key states,” said Belen Mendoza, AARP Vice President of Campaigns. “We are excited to partner with Univision to encourage 50-plus Hispanic voters to use their voice in the upcoming election by showing up to the polls and holding their politicians accountable.”

The partnership between Univision and AARP will also include original television spots and interviews, a live phone bank in each state, Facebook Live events in connection with AARP’s @AliadosAdelante featuring state AARP experts and local Univision anchors, and other Univision events. The partnership will also feature original research in each state about 50-plus Hispanic/Latino voters and joint meetings with candidates in targeted races to brief them on the research findings.

The AARP-Univision polls were conducted in English and Spanish by Bendixen and Amandi International between Aug. 29 and Sept. 9. Each poll in Arizona, California and Florida surveyed 500 likely Hispanic voters 50 years and older and has a margin of error of +/- 4.4 percentage points.

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