Latino biz group jumps into voter registration

A Latino business owners group tells Axios it's launching a political action committee, with its first voter registration event happening Tuesday evening.

Why it matters: The Hispanic Advocates and Business Leaders of Austin says its new Vota Action Fund is "dedicated to supporting the next generation of Latino leaders and candidates."

• The PAC's strategies include targeting high schoolers; 55% of Austin Independent School District's nearly 80,000 students are Latino.
• "We have lots of eligible and newly eligible young people we want to target," Paul Saldaña, part of the HABLA leadership team and a former Austin school board member, tells Axios.

Between the lines: HABLA's new political arm makes it at least the second Latino-oriented Democratic group in Travis County to offer endorsements. The Austin Tejano Democrats has long been the dominant endorsement club to gain Latino support in local elections.

• Saldaña told Axios HABLA is aiming to work with more progressive Latino candidates.

What to watch: To celebrate National Voter Registration Day on Tuesday, VOTA Action Fund and the Eastside Guardians, a group that promotes housing affordability and economic diversity in East Austin, will register voters Tuesday from 5:30-7:30pm at Parque Zaragoza, 2608 Gonzales St.

• Oct. 4 is the final day to register to vote ahead of the city- and state-level election on Nov. 2.