Latinos encouraged to vote on Election Day

Advocacy groups are mobilizing to ensure that on Election Day Latino voters have an equal opportunity to vote and have their vote count.

El Pueblo a Raleigh-based organization that works to strengthen the N.C. Latino community is disseminating voting information to members of the Latino community.

They have been sending volunteers door-to-door since October" distributing information in Latino neighborhoods as part of their ""Trick-or-Vote"" initiative.

El Pueblo also will have vehicles to take Latino voters to the polls on Election Day as needed.

Tony Asion" executive director of El Pueblo" said Latinos often face challenges even after they arrive to the polls to vote.

""Sometimes people are questioned when they get to the voting booth — if they have papers" IDs and such — and they're being asked these questions when nobody else is" he said.

Latinos who fail to provide this information are sometimes turned away without voting, he said.

To remedy this, Asion said that El Pueblo has sent volunteers to early voting site to ensure such intimidation does not take place, and is planning on doing the same on Tuesday.

Labor Council for Latin American Advancement Executive Director Gabriela Lemus said that stopping the spread of misinformation about voting is key to getting Latinos out to the polls.

A lot of people get turned away at the polls because they don't have their papers or ID" and they don't know that they don't need those things to be able to vote" Lemus said.

The group, an advocacy organization sponsored by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, has distributed flyers containing information about voter rights, where and how to vote as well and a toll-free voter protection hotline number.

Like El Pueblo, the labor council also is keeping an eye on polling places. Lemus said volunteers at polling sites will conduct exit polls to make sure the voting rights of Latinos have not been violated.

If any serious discrimination occurs, a team of lawyers in each state is prepared to take the fight to the state court and possibly even to the U.S. Department of Justice, Lemus said.

The Latino vote may prove vital in deciding the outcome of this year's elections, she said.

The Latino vote can be critical in places where the races are tough" she said. In Virginia for example" they are looking at the Latino vote really closely this year.""

Asion said that Latinos as a group value voting more than many other key demographics.

""I think you'll find nationwide that people who become naturalized citizens have a higher voting record than natural-born citizens" he said. We see voting as a real privilege so as more Latinos become naturalized" you'll see more voting.""



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