A new National Association of Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund report finds that nearly one million Latino voters could find it more difficult to vote in the critical 2016 presidential election based on new restrictive voting changes.

The "Latino Voters at Risk: Assessing the Impact of Restrictive Voting Changes in Election 2016" report compares this year's voting bylaws with those on the books in 2012.

The findings were released at a recent Washington D.C. gathering attended by former Puerto Rico Governor Luis Fortuno, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla and NALEO Educational Fund Executive Director Artuto Vargas.

SCOTUS Ruling in 2013 Paved Way for Changes

In all, at least 875,000 Latinos are expected to be impacted this election season stemming from a 2013 Supreme Court ruling that eliminated certain protections of the Voting Rights Act.

"More than 13.1 million Latino voters are expected to cast ballots in 2016," said Vargas. "While historic, we know millions more will stay at home on Election Day. To maximize participation among Latinos, we need to be promoting policies that make voting and registering to vote more accessible, and not less accessible, to the nation's second largest population group and all qualified U.S. citizens."

Overall, 27.3 million Latinos are estimated to be eligible to take part in the 2016 election, made even more critical this campaign season by the contentious debate over immigration.

Immigration: One of Election Season's Biggest Issues

Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump has taken a hard-line stance on the issue, vowing to deport millions of immigrants and build a wall along the Mexican border to further keep them out.

Meanwhile, Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have both pledged allegiance to a plan of immigration reform.

Among the changes that could adversely affect Latino voters are stricter voter ID laws, restrictions placed on registration, truncated early voting periods and changes to absentee voting policies.

NALEO estimates that as many as eight million Latino voters could be somehow impacted by the changes, with many of them residing in jurisdictions that have been freed from all governmental oversight despite having histories of being oppressive toward minority voters.

Over the last four years, 19 states have adopted barriers that could impede the Latino vote, with many of them coming in states where the Latino population has been most on the rise.

Prior to 2013 states and other jurisdictions that had a history of discriminating against minorities were required to gain federal approval before enacted any voting rights changes. The aforementioned Supreme Court ruling struck down all so-called pre-clearance safeguards as outdated.

Related