California’s new citizens get ready to cast their votes
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At a recent voter fair at Placita Olvera, Carmen Gutierrez practiced punching her ballot in a mock polling booth and received information about the state’s propositions.
Though she has lived in the United States for more than a decade, Gutierrez became a new citizen only in September and registered to vote earlier this month. She said she is eager to vote in the presidential election.
‘There are a lot of Latinos here,’ said Gutierrez, who is originally from Mexico. ‘We have to make our voices heard.’
Hundreds of thousands of new citizens like Gutierrez are registering to vote in California and around the nation in time to cast ballots Nov. 4. In Los Angeles County, about 60,000 new citizens have registered to vote since January, according to the county registrar. In all of last year, about 34,000 new citizens registered.
In an effort to get new citizens registered and to the polls, community groups are walking precincts, conducting phone banks, holding forums and distributing multilingual voter guides. The ‘YaesHora¡VeyVota!’(It’s Time, Go Vote!) campaign aims to involve Latino immigrants in the electoral process and force politicians to listen. But first, many of the new citizens need help with the logistics, such as filling out registration forms and finding polling places.
Read on about new citizens casting their votes here.
-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City