Luz Herrera arrived in San Diego in 1989 from the Mexican state of Guerrero with the goal of making a better life for her family.

After many struggles, she opened in 1999 a Mexican restaurant in North Park, El Comal, which now employs 50 people.

Nearly two decades after her arrival, Herrera applied for U.S. citizenship, mainly because she wanted to participate in elections.

"I wanted my voice to be heard," said Herrera, 57, who runs the restaurant along with her husband and four children.

That's exactly the kind of person a coalition called "Ya Es Hora" ("It's Time" in Spanish) is targeting.

Its members recently launched an initiative to help the nearly 20,000 legal immigrants in San Diego County to apply for U.S. citizenship and to participate in the 2012 elections.

The effort involves a range of organizations countywide that provide information about how to become a U.S. citizen and assistance in the process. They include Catholic Charities of San Diego, Legal Aid Society of San Diego, and Justice Overcoming Boundaries.

Norma Chávez-Peterson, the director of Justice Overcoming Boundaries, stressed that voting does not just mean choosing representatives to various levels of government but also having a say in issues of social importance.

"Everything is political – schools, health insurance, employment – all the issues that affect Latinos are decided at the ballot box," the director said last week at a press conference outside the county Registrar of Voters.

She said that the current recession makes it more important than ever for everyone to participate in civic life, particularly Latinos.

"The economy is our bread-and-butter issue," she said. "A downturn always hits us harder."

Figures released on Tuesday underscored that reality. More than one in four Hispanics across the country are now living in poverty, according to the Census Bureau, more than double the rate for non-Hispanic whites.

"The unemployment rate is higher, and household wealth declined more than any other group," Mark Hugo Lopez, the associate director of the Pew Hispanic Center, was quoted as saying by The Christian Science Monitor.

That's why organizations are encouraging Latinos to make themselves heard in elections.

"Voting should be a part of our culture, like going to church on Sundays, something that is part of us," the director said.

She said many immigrants do not apply for citizenship because of the cost – a total of $680 -- or don't feel comfortable sharing personal information.

Immigrants who want to vote got some help earlier this year from Sacramento.

In April, Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law AB 84, which allows new U.S. citizens to register to vote in the week before Election Day, and to vote on the day itself. Previously, the registration deadline was seven days before an election.

"This new law encourages electoral participation among all new U.S. citizens," said Michael Wu, assistant county Registrar of Voters.

Like business owner Herrera, there are nearly 2.3 million legal immigrants in the state who qualify for U.S. citizenship.