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Mexicans Lagging in Voter Registration from the US

VOTERS WITH CREDENTIALS | 5 percent have registered to vote. (Photo/EFE)

UNTIL FEBRUARY 20, THEY CAN CHOOSE VOTING MODALITY

Newsroom El Comercio de Colorado

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Mexicans residing in the United States are lagging in completing their registration with the National Electoral Institute (INE). This registration is the formal step for these individuals to participate in the elections on June 2 from abroad. According to INE data, as of January 11, one million four hundred sixty-six thousand voter credentials (CPVE) had been issued for voting from the United States. This figure represents 97 percent of the total CPDVE issued by the INE to Mexicans abroad.

As of that same date, only 79,000 of those Mexicans who already had their voter credentials had registered to vote. The Mexican electoral process requires that every voter with a CPVE must make a formal registration on the INE website. This registration will allow them to choose the preferred voting modality. On this occasion, Mexicans abroad will be able to vote by mail, as was already traditional. But at the same time, they will be able to vote by email and in person, at some consulates.

Watch the interview with Diana Alarcón.

Until February 20, there is no extension

This registration process will end on February 20. “We are concerned about the low proportion of people who, having their voter credential, have proceeded to register to vote. Voters must register on the INE website. We consider these elections historic, with more than 20,000 positions of popular election at stake, including the Presidency of the Republic. It is important that Mexicans abroad exercise their right to vote,” Diana Alarcón, from Claudia Sheinbaum’s campaign team, told us.

Alarcón considers the possibility of postponing that date somewhat complicated. “The date was chosen by the INE based on the complexity of the electoral process. It was an internal decision of the electoral body. All political parties have asked the INE to consider postponing the date; but we also understand that this decision is complicated. What it is up to all of us is to insist that all those who have the voter credential register before February 20,” she added.

Is there time to obtain a voter credential?

Those who will not be able to register and therefore will not be able to exercise their right to vote are those who did not process their voter credential before January 15. This was the initial procedure that all Mexicans in the US and the world had to do to vote. This request is made at any Mexican consulate in the world without the need for a prior appointment. At the consulates, the request is made, but the INE issues the credential at its headquarters. Once issued, the INE sends it by mail to the address provided by the voter.

However, a dilemma arises, as those who applied for their credential after January 15 face the possibility of not receiving it before February 20. Officials from the Consulate of Mexico in Denver indicate that the INE announced that the process for each CPVE requires a minimum period of four weeks. This period covers from the moment the INE receives each request until the moment the voter receives their credential at their residence abroad.

A total of 30 million Mexicans

“The INE has told us that it is committed to processing and sending credentials much faster for voters abroad. Keep requesting your credential as soon as possible,” Alarcón said. If the INE were to postpone the February 20 deadline, there would be certainty that many more Mexicans could apply for their voter credential. Alarcón concluded by stating that there are 11 million first-generation Mexicans residing in the United States. If the second and third generations are counted, the number of Mexicans in the US would reach 30 million.