New ¡Vota! Beer Aims To Reach Eligible Latino Voters In Denver

DENVER (CBS4) - The Denver Elections Division partnered with Raices Brewing to help get people out to vote. ¡Vota!, a cream ale, was launched to highlight the importance of voting.  Vota is Spanish for vote.

The brewery sits on  West Colfax Avenue near Zuni Street -- the cusp of Denver's Northside neighborhood where historically a large segment of the Latino community live. CBS4 talked with some in the neighborhood.

"If you have the opportunity to vote, and you don't vote, you're not just hurting yourself, you're hurting somebody else who doesn't have the opportunity to vote," Anna Marie said.

For more than 20 years, Anna Marie's family has been running La Fiesta. It's a specialty shop for piñatas and flowers in Denver. While the store's name means party in Spanish, for years, Anna Marie's mother wasn't part of the party to vote after immigrating from Mexico.

"She built the business for the family all by her herself," Anna Marie told CBS4.

That's because it took years for her mom to become naturalized. Now, this will be Anna's first presidential election, and on Wednesday she was following reaction from Tuesday night's debate.

"I'm excited to see what happens, but I feel like everyone's reaction right now is, 'is this actually happening?'"

Potential voter apathy or lack of information is part of the reason the Denver Elections Division and Raices Brewing are using the "people's drink" to connect with voters. They're hoping to create a buzz for voting especially with Latinos.

"Democracy is for the people, by the people," Martin Vargas, Raices Co-Owner said.

Yet, Latino voter turnout has been low. In 2019, the Latino Leadership Institute at the University of Denver released a study which found out of an estimated 550,000 eligible Latino voters, only 57% were registered to vote.

"You know obviously one beer isn't going to do it, we have a lot of work today," Paul Lopez, Denver's Clerk and Recorder said.

Lopez believes it will take more education and outreach to get Latinos as well as immigrants of other backgrounds to cast a ballot.

"I honestly think this is the most important election of our day," Anna Marie added.

After all her mother has done, Anna Marie tells us, she registered and will make sure her voice is heard.

Raices Brewing plans to hold a special Spanish/ English voting information night on Oct. 14.