Southwest Voter Registration Education Project

The Southwest Voter Registration Education Project (SVREP), founded in 1974, is the largest and oldest non-partisan Latino voter participation organization in the United States. SVREP is a 501(c)3, national nonprofit organization. It was founded by the late William C. Velasquez and other Mexican-American political activists to ensure the voting rights of Mexican-Americans in the Southwest. The SVREP mobilizes the Latino vote and empowers the Latino community to build a stronger and more open democratic society by engaging Latinos in the electoral process. Much progress has been made toward this goal. The number of Latinos registered to vote in America has increased from 2.1 million in 1974 to 15.5 million in 2016. Latino voter turnout has grown from 1.3 million to 13.5 million in the general elections held from 1994 to 2016. SVREP has played a major role in the expansion of the Latino Vote in the US. Since opening its doors in 1974, SVREP has registered 2.7 million Latinos to vote, trained 150,000 Latino leaders and won 155 voting rights lawsuits. Many former SVREP trainees serve as elected officials, and as heads of nonprofits, unions, and businesses. In 2006, it was determined by the Irvine Foundation that SVREP increased voter turnout by 9.2% over the expected turnout for that election cycle. SVREP's mission is to empower Latinos and other minorities by increasing their participation in the American democratic process. We do this by strengthening the capacity, experience and skills of Latino leaders, networks, and organizations through programs that consistently train, organize, finance, development, expand and mobilize Latino leaders and voters around an agenda that reflects their values. Thus, SVREP's motto: "Su Voto Es Su Voz" (Your Vote is Your Voice). SVREP conducts voter registration projects to register, educate, and promote voting in the upcoming elections.