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," said Leonardo Valdés, the IFE's president.
He compared it to the 1953 milestone in Mexican history, when women were allowed to vote for the first time.
Electoral representatives told the reporters that they removed certain obstacles that hindered the process in the 2006 election.
First, they eliminated the cost of mailing the ballot back to Mexico. In the previous election, sending it back from the United States cost nearly $16. This time around, thanks to an agreement with the Mexican postal service, the mailing will be free.
Another difference is that it won't be necessary for Mexicans to present proof of their address. Many move frequently or simply want to keep their address private. All they will have to do this time around is provide an address where they can receive their ballot.
The enrollment form will be simpler, too, only asking for the name, the state where they were born, the information on their Mexican-issued electoral credential and an address.
For this cycle, electoral officials are even allowing the use of some expired credentials those that have an "03" in a square in back to be used. If the person were voting in Mexico, an expired credential would not be allowed.
It's that credential, which has a photo of the holder, that was a big challenge six years ago and will be continue to be so this time.
For a variety of reasons, many Mexicans do not have the credential and they cannot get it because it can only be obtained in Mexico. Many simply cannot travel home to apply for it.
If they did return to Mexico, the credential would arrive at the Mexican address provided in seven to ten days, the electoral officials said.
Mexicans who have the credential may register through the official site.
Once they register, the person will receive an electoral packet containing the ballot between April 16 to May 20, of 2012. By then the candidates for the presidency will have been defined. The packet will include an envelope with postage paid.
A total of 5,800 immigrants have registered since the enrollment period began in October, an electoral official said. Of those, 1,231 applications came from California, 781 from Florida and 631 from Texas.
In fact, 30 per cent of the votes cast from the United States came from California in the 2006 election.
An electoral official said that the current total of people registered is three times higher compared to the same period six years ago. Still, the number registered is very small considering the 4.5 million immigrants believed to have the credential who live in the United States.
"Mexicans are known for waiting until the last minute," he said, predicting that the pace of registration would pick up in the weeks before the Jan. 15 deadline.
Electoral officials have already carried out informational campaigns in U.S. communities with concentrations of immigrants to publicize the process.
Six years ago, officials spent $19.2 million to reach millions of potential Mexican voters who lived in the United States at the time. Of those, only 32,000 enrolled to vote. The effort became known in Mexico as "the most expensive election in history."
On Election Day, July 1, all votes cast by Mexicans abroad will be counted on the campus of Tecnológico de Monterrey in Mexico City. Just like at other locations where votes will counted, the count there will be observed by citizens and representatives of the political parties to guarantee a transparent election, an IFE official said.
The 2012 election is considered the largest in Mexico's history. Besides selecting a president, voters in Mexico will elect 2,000 representatives, among them six governors and the mayor of Mexico City.
During the two-day workshop, electoral officials stressed that they valued the voice of those who have emigrated.
An adviser to the IFE put it this way: "Our democracy is indebted to our countrymen who have left."
Alexandra.mendoza@sandiegored.com
[sidebar]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.
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