Central Florida election supervisors and local Latino leaders on Tuesday called on Latinos to register to vote ahead of this November’s election.
The action took place on National Voter Registration Day, which aims to get all Americans registered to vote.
Supervisors of elections in Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties joined the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Education Fund in this effort.
NALEO Director Arturo Vargas said it is important that Latin Americans understand their power in this election.
He said 33 million Latinos are eligible to vote, representing 25% of all young voters. Speaking in Spanish, he said Latinos are the future of this country and should act like them.
“Somos el futuro de los estados unidos,” Vargas said.
That’s why he said his organization is partnering with other Latino nonprofits to encourage people to vote.
“Latinos make up the second largest electorate in the United States after non-Hispanic whites, but we are not the second largest electorate,” Vargas said.
NALEO, other nonprofits, and election officials come together to discuss the Latino vote.
To support these efforts, Orange County Supervisor of Elections Glenn Gilzean said he has proposed a $1 million increase in the OC Voting Program’s budget in 2025.
The program will help his office reach Latino voters and other underserved voters through education and outreach.
“My goal is to build relationships with local nonprofit organizations and grow them as an extension of this office so that we can reach the 1.4 million residents here in Orange County.” said Gilzean.
In Osceola County, which has the largest population of Latino voters in Central Florida, Supervisor of Elections Mary Jane Arrington said everything is done in Spanish and English.
“I always say vote for what you know,” Arrington said. “We have two websites, one in English and one in Spanish. Every page, every word, is translated by a real person. I have two women. I trust them and they will translate every page for me.”
She said her office also provides ballots and other voter registration information in Spanish, and that poll workers at all but one polling place are bilingual.
Beyond those efforts, Seminole County Supervisor of Elections Chris Anderson said he wants voters to remember the “why” of this November election.
At the end of the day, voting is personal, he said, and so is the decision whether to register to make your voice heard in November.
“My grandmother, she didn’t have the right to vote. She didn’t vote until 1951, and her parents couldn’t vote either,” said Anderson, who is Black. “My great-grandfather was a civil rights activist. He ran away from the KKK one night and hid in a cemetery all night for the civil rights movement. And so many people did that. With us. Similarly, so many people who never had the opportunity to vote now have that opportunity and should take advantage of it.”
He simply said: “You can’t complain about what’s wrong unless you’re willing to stand up for what’s right.”
Watch this video to learn more about voter registration in Florida.
The last day to register to vote in Florida is October 7th.
Click here to register to vote online in Florida.
You can check if your voter registration is up to date here.
To register to vote in Florida, you must:
Be a citizen of the United States; be a resident of Florida; be at least 18 years old (if you are 16, you may pre-register to vote); be mentally incompetent to vote in Florida or elsewhere; Has not been adjudicated to have the right to vote; has not been disqualified due to a felony conviction; According to the Florida Department of Elections, if you are convicted of a felony murder or sex offense in Florida, you will be ineligible to vote. However, for other felony convictions in Florida, you can register and vote if you have served your entire sentence. This includes prison and prison sentences. parole, probation, or other forms of supervision; Payment of all fines, fees, costs, and restitution ordered as part of a felony conviction.
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