Thread: Mexican migrants to vote on-line for first time

Mexican migrants to vote on-line for first time

Mexico City natives to cast ballots for local election

Por: Alexandra Mendoza 20 Febrero 2012 @ 7:21 am
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An election adviser from Mexico City, Ángel Díaz Ortiz, spoke at the Mexican Consulate in San Diego last week about the “Voto Chilango.” Alexandra Mendoza / SanDiegoRed.com

“Voto Chilango”

Mexico City natives who live abroad may vote for its mayor in the July 1 election.

To register, INSTITUTO ELECTORAL DEL DISTRITO FEDERAL

The deadline to register to vote through the mail is Feb. 29, and through the Internet it’s March 15.

More information: 1-800-IEDF-2012

Mexico is writing electoral history by allowing Mexico City natives who live outside of the country to vote for its mayor in the July 1 election.

Further, for the first time votes can be cast through the Internet, which could pave the way for all Mexican immigrants who qualify to vote this way in future elections in their native land.

Immigrants living in the United States and other countries can already vote for president if they register and hold a valid electoral card.

A little more than 61,500 immigrants signed up to vote this way by the Jan. 15 deadline for the program called “Voto Extranjero” (Foreign Vote), electoral officials announced last week. The voters will receive ballots for the presidential election this spring by mail that they must return ahead of the July 1 election.

Now electoral officials are promoting the “Voto Chilango” among immigrant communities in the United States. One of them, Ángel Díaz Ortiz, was in San Diego last week to outline the process for this election.

“Chilango” is a colloquial label many Mexicans use to describe those who come from Mexico City.

Former residents of that city have until Feb. 29 to register if they will be voting by mail or by March 15 if they will be using the Internet to elect the next “Jefe de Estado,” akin to the mayor.

According to federal authorities, an estimated 97,000 Mexico City natives live in the United States, of which 5,309 have already registered.

To vote, they must have a valid credential from the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE) with photo and must have an address in Mexico City (could be from a relative or friend) and fill out the application found at INSTITUTO ELECTORAL DEL DISTRITO FEDERAL.

Once registered, those who opted to vote by mail will receive their ballot between April 16 and May 20, while those who chose the Internet will receive it three days before the July 1 election.

All ballots received from outside of the country will be opened and counted on election day.

Díaz Ortiz is an adviser for the independent agency organizing the Mexico City vote, called the Electoral Institute of Mexico City.

He said the information immigrants provide to register will be kept confidential and that enhanced security measures will prevent hacking.

“There’s absolute security in voting through the Internet,” he said during an appearance at Mexican Consulate in San Diego.

He said a company from Spain is providing technical support to Mexico City’s electoral agency to conduct the on-line voting.

He said that if this election runs smoothly it would set a precedent for immigrants to be able to vote through the Internet in future elections for president although to do so would require a change in the law.

The three main aspirants to be Mexico City’s mayor are Beatriz Paredes, from the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI); Isabel Miranda de Wallace, for the National Action Party (PAN); and Miguel Ángel Mancera, for the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD).

The winner of that election will succeed Marcelo Ebrard, who has been in office for six years.

Díaz Ortiz also discussed the overall effort to get immigrants to vote for president.

Federal electoral officials announced last week that 61,687 Mexicans living outside of the country had registered to vote for this election. Though they live in 113 countries, more than 80 per cent of reside in the United States.

Of those, 12,664 came from California, 7,257 from Texas, 5,346 from Illinois, 3,111 from Florida, and 2,620 from New York.

The total is 8 per cent greater than the number who registered to vote six years ago. However, only around 32,000 actually cast their ballots.

Electoral officials say there are 4.5 million Mexicans living in the United States with a valid electoral credential to be able to vote in their native land.

Díaz Ortiz cautioned not to read too much into the low registration number.

“I think there are false expectations,” he said. “This is not just a Mexican problem.”

He said that other countries that allow its citizens living abroad to vote also have a very low participation rates, “between 1 to 1.5 per cent.”

He stressed that this reality should not discourage the effort to make the vote available to all Mexicans who live outside of the country since it’s a right they have under the Constitution.

alexandra.mendoza@sandiegored.com

Mexican migrants to vote on-line for first time - Noticias - SanDiegoRed

We could learn a thing or two from Mexico's voting system