Group Works to Get Out the Latino Vote

Traditional religion shared the pulpit with the gospel of political involvement in Pacoima on Sunday as a community group used a packed Mass at Mary Immaculate Church to urge Latino parishioners to flex their electoral muscle in voting booths Nov. 5.

Before the Mass, three volunteers from VOICE--Valley Organized in Community Efforts--passed out absentee ballot forms, part of a strategy to encourage newly registered voters who, they said, might fear showing up at polling stations to exercise their rights.

The volunteers, who have conducted similar campaigns at other predominantly low-income churches in the San Fernando Valley, also passed out fliers with the names and numbers of state ballot initiatives and the word “no” marked beside three of them--including Proposition 209, which would end affirmative action in state government hiring and education programs.

“They said we should vote no on the ones they marked,” said Ines Estrada, 21, of Panorama City. “I think I agree [with] marking no on 209 because it protects the rights of minorities.”

Father Luis Valbuena reinforced the theme in a sermon that urged the 1,000 or so parishioners to “follow the example of Jesus.”

He “showed us how to take care of the poor and those whose freedom is threatened,” Valbuena said. “That was his platform. He was the first politician.”

Sunday’s effort continued a VOICE campaign to register at least 24,000 new voters in the San Fernando Valley and get them to the polls.

VOICE is a church-based organization formed in the 1980s to address the interests of Valley residents--particularly those in poor Latino neighborhoods.

It is a sister organization to the United Neighborhood Organization on the Eastside, the Southern California Organizing Committee in South-Central Los Angeles and East Valley Organization in the San Gabriel Valley.

The groups’ trademark is direct action to combat community ills, and UNO and SCOC captured headlines for a decade with campaigns to clean up supermarkets, close liquor stores, build affordable housing, raise the minimum wage and combat the spread of gangs.

VOICE intensified its voter registration efforts after passage of Proposition 187, the anti-illegal immigrant measure, said Father Tom Rush, Mary Immaculate Church’s pastor and one of VOICE’s founders.

VOICE’s activities, including citizenship and voting classes, come at a time when President Clinton’s push to naturalize 1 million legal immigrants is under fire by critics who say he is using the naturalization process to increase votes for the Democrats.

“We are nonpartisan and the law prohibits us from direct advocacy,” said Gary Smith, a VOICE staffer, who said the organization has helped about 3,000 people become citizens in the last year and is on track toward its goal of registering 24,000 new voters.

“Our focus is to have a permanent organization in place so Democrats and Republicans can take our community seriously,” he said.

Inside the church, after a few hymns and a prayer, the sermon turned into a civics lesson.

“Now I want to talk about a very important matter,” Valbuena told the crowd. “It’s something that will happen Nov. 5.”

Some criticize churches for becoming involved in politics, he said. But getting involved to stop “unjust laws” is not politics, it’s “taking care of fellow human beings,” Valbuena said.

He blasted Proposition 187 and said that if the 500,000 new Latino voters expected to participate this year had cast ballots in 1994, the measure would not have passed and that Gov. Pete Wilson, who supported Proposition 187 and now supports Proposition 209, would not have been reelected.

The overflow crowd, including hundreds who stood in the aisles or peered in through the open doors, listened quietly. Many admitted after the service to being unfamiliar with how to vote but said they wanted to learn more about it and about the propositions.

After the service, VOICE staffers continued passing out pamphlets, including one that warned: “Vota o Te Botan”--Spanish for “Vote or They’ll Kick you Out.”

Smith said many first-time voters may be too intimidated to go to polling places, which is why his organization is encouraging absentee voting.

VOICE staffers said they do not endorse any candidate. But they acknowledged that they “suggest” how people should vote on three propositions they think would have an adverse impact on the Valley’s poor neighborhoods.

In addition to 209, the literature urged no votes on Propositions 213 and 218. Proposition 213 would prohibit drivers without insurance from receiving compensation after accidents, and 218 would require voter approval for all general tax increases.

“We only talk about what we think is better for the community,” said Cecelia Barragan, a VOICE volunteer.

“It’s important to me to vote for the good of the children,” said Maria Enriquez, 44, a new citizen who will vote for the first time. “There’s so many things coming out against our race.”

She said she attended VOICE citizenship classes and voting sessions where she was taught about the process, including how to mark her ballot.

Said Armando Vera, 32, who is in the process of becoming a citizen: “Voting is not a right. It’s an obligation. Voting is the voice of the peasants.”