http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/printDS/125325

Published: 04.19.2006

Statewide registration being discussed to mobilize Latino voters
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PHOENIX - Discussions are under way about launching statewide voter-registration and get-out-the-vote drives to mobilize Latino voters for the fall elections.

Former state lawmaker Alfredo Gutierrez, on his Spanish-language radio show Tuesday, urged listeners to follow his lead and register or re-register as independent so that neither Democrats nor Republicans could take their votes for granted.

"We need to use our vote strategically," Gutierrez said.

By state law, independents may vote in either Republican or Democratic primaries, so Latinos could target politicians they consider unsympathetic to their causes.

Only 121 new voters were registered during last week's historic pro-immigrant march in Phoenix, despite efforts by organizers to translate the massive turnout into stronger Latino electoral clout.

Maricopa County Elections Director Karen Osborne said elections officials still must formally verify the marchers' registrations.

There is no way to know how many marchers already were registered, nor how many were ineligible foreigners.

Osborne had warned registrars before the march to ask each registrant for a post-1996 Arizona driver's license as proof of citizenship, ensuring compliance with the state's recently amended registration laws.

Proposition 200 changed state laws to require proof of citizenship for voter registration. Non-citizens who register are now subject to prosecution.

An Arizona driver's license is considered proof for registration purposes because the state Motor Vehicle Division requires evidence of U.S. citizenship to issue a license.