Jessica Alba, Eva Longoria and other actors visited students on Mill Avenue to advocate for the Harris-Walz presidential ticket in the little time left before Election Day.
The actors sat down on Nov. 3 to speak with students at Snakes & Lattes, a board game café that Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz also visited in September. They discussed the importance of women, youth and Latino voters in this election.
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"(The) government is there to work for us so that we can be surrounded with the opportunities that we value so much," Alba said. "We want to live out our dreams. We believe the American dream is for us, no matter where we come from, no matter who we look like, who we love, where any of our cultures or communities are from."
Longoria said that voting for Kamala Harris was voting for human rights, freedom and democracy.
"We can all be part of history, not because she's going to be the first female president in history, but because we get to choose democracy by voting for Kamala," Longoria said.
Lani Kujawski, a freshman studying political science and part of the Feminist Majority organization on campus, said that she identifies with and appreciates these celebrities' efforts.
"They're all about putting in the hard work (for campaigning), just as we are," she said. "We are all about collaboration, just as the women are."
Alba said that she was not campaigning at ASU from the perspective of a celebrity.
"I'm here as a mom, I'm here as a daughter, I'm here as a union member, I'm here as just a human being who believes in equality and fairness and basic human rights being preserved," Alba said.
Longoria shared the same sentiment.
"We're not here as celebrities," Longoria said. "We're here as Americans."
Matthew Marich, a sophomore studying political science, said that fame may help to spread their message anyway.
"When you see a role model, regardless of who it is, regardless of their characteristics, you're more likely to want to get involved, because you know your role model is out there telling you to," Marich said. "But then, on a separate note — and I think what's arguably more powerful — is the fact that there are people in the audience who can relate and see themselves in that role model."
Longoria said she uses her platform as an actor to encourage people to vote and to educate them on election misinformation.
"That's what our role is: to amplify and put the spotlight on truth and facts and (make) sure people are making educated decisions," she said.
Longoria and Alba said that education in this election was especially important for women of color.
"There's so much misinformation targeted that's targeted to (the Latino) community, specifically telling our community that their vote doesn't matter ... and so we're here to say that every vote matters and our community is so powerful, and when we do get out and vote, we will make the difference in this election," Alba said.
Longoria said that Latino voters were often in swing states like Arizona.
According to a Univision report, 21% of registered voters in Arizona in 2024 were Hispanic, and most were below 35 years old.
However, Living United for Change in Arizona also reported that around 28% of Latino voters in Arizona do not align with either major party. This makes them an important demographic for both the Harris-Walz and Trump-Vance campaigns to target.
The actors also emphasized that voters' fight for the country does not end on Nov. 5.
"The American Dream is just as much our dream as it is anyone else's dream, and we deserve to have our dreams fully realized," Alba said.
Edited by Sophia Ramirez, Abigail Beck and Alysa Horton.
Reach the reporter at pkfung@asu.edu and follow @FungPippa on X.
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Pippa is a sophomore studying journalism and mass communication with minors in political science and German. This is her second semester with The State Press. She has also worked at Blaze Radio and the Los Alamos National Lab.
