Immigrants urged to vote in 2012 Mexico election

They have a Jan. 15 deadline to register to vote by mail

Por: Alexandra Mendoza 23 Noviembre 2011 @ 8:58 am
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How to register

Mexicans living in the United States who qualify may vote in Mexico’s presidential election next summer.

More information is available at this site.
http://www.votoextranjero.org.mx/

Millions of Mexicans living in the United States follow presidential politics back home religiously. Mexican electoral officials want immigrants to do more than that. They want them to vote.

Mexicans living abroad have until Jan. 15 to enroll in a program through the Internet to be able to vote in next summer’s presidential election without leaving the United States.

It’s the second time they will have a chance to vote this way.

In 2006, the effort is largely considered to have flopped. This time around the independent agency that runs elections, the Instituto Federal Electoral (IFE), says it will do things differently to encourage the potential 4.5 million voters who reside north of the border to vote by mail.

Still, the agency is spending less on outreach to immigrants in this cycle, though promises its effort will be more targeted.

Last weekend, the agency held a two-day workshop in Mexico City for journalists who work in Latino media in the United States to explain how it will do so.

“For Mexicans living abroad to be able to exercise their right to vote is a great achievement for our democracy,â€