3, 2, 1…Feliz Año Nuevo!

If you are like me, you were probably one of the millions who rang-in 2012 with these words.

The start of a new year is an exciting time. It marks a time for change and an opportunity to reflect on where we have been, where we are going, and how we are going to get there.

For Latinos in particular, there is a great deal to reflect upon. Since 2000, our community has grown more than 43 percent, with Latinos now accounting for more than 50 million of the country’s population, or one out of every six Americans living in the United States today.

As the nation’s fastest growing and second largest population group, we have much to look forward to in 2012, including the next presidential election. Ready to turn numbers into political clout, the Latino electorate is poised to again play a critical role in this year’s race for the White House.

According to projections released by our organization, the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund, a record-setting 12.2 million Latino voters will head to the polls to make their voices heard this election year.

This number marks a 26 percent increase from our historic turnout in 2008, an election year where the Latino electorate cast decisive votes in several states, including many where the margin of victory was far less than the total Latino share of the vote.

Looking ahead, the stage is set for history to repeat itself this election year.

In California, New Mexico and Texas, at least one in five voters will be Latino, with the Latino share of the electorate in New Mexico reaching 35 percent. In the battleground states of Colorado, New Mexico and Florida, the Latino electorate and its swing voters will once again be vital to the electoral success or failure of the nation’s presidential candidates and political parties.

While the future is promising for Latinos in 2012, there is still a great deal to be done if we hope to meet these expectations, and make headway in ensuring our community’s political participation is commensurate with its growing share of the American population.

In 2008, more than 19.5 million Latinos were eligible to vote, but more than half did not cast their ballots in the general election. With the President and Congress playing pivotal roles in setting the policy direction of this country, particularly with regards to the economy, immigration and education, our community cannot afford to do anything less than realize its full electoral potential.

We need to encourage increased Latino political participation this November, and we can start by doing our part today.

As November nears, we will implement an unprecedented voter engagement program to provide hundreds of thousands of voters with vital information in both English and Spanish on every aspect of the electoral process; from registering to vote, to voter identification requirements, to finding their polling place on Election Day. In addition, the award winning and successful non-partisan civic participation coalition campaign, ya es hora ¡Ve y Vota! (It’s time. Go and vote!), and its partners will be in full operation.

We are now also ramping-up our efforts to tackle the next frontier in our civic engagement work: engaging “The Great Unengaged.” This segment of our work will focus on reaching Latino citizen adults who have opted out of the political process, with an emphasis on highly infrequent voters and eligible un-registered voters.

Independent analysis and field work tell us that when the two biggest barriers to political participation are addressed – lack of meaningful engagement and information on the electoral process – we can motivate Latino voters to head to the polls.

Through our expanded voter engagement efforts, we will aim to tackle these two impediments and reach out to the members of our community who are most likely to experience ineffective outreach or ongoing political neglect from campaigns and candidates. By focusing on this sector of the potential Latino electorate, we hope to take a large step towards integrating all Latinos into the political process and the fabric of our nation’s rich civic life for 2012 and beyond.

But we cannot do it alone. We will need the support of everyone in the community this year, especially strong Latinas.

Based on their role in previous elections, we know that Latinas are ready for the challenge ahead. In 2008, Latinas outvoted their Latino male counterparts by more than 5 percent – a number that significantly contributed to the historic Latino voter turnout.

We are asking for everyone’s help in the effort to fully engage the Latino community. As leaders of our families, churches and communities, Latinas are uniquely positioned to motivate those they touch to register and vote. We will need their help doing just that in the lead up to the election.

The clock is already ticking, and the countdown started for the Latino community. It will be up to each and every one of us to take action in the coming months to ensure that we beat even our own projections and far more than 12.2 million Latinos make their voices heard at the ballot box on November 6.

If we do, there will be a lot more for the Latino community to look back on and celebrate come January 1, 2013.