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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | November 2005 
Mexico Launches Effort to Register Migrants for Historic Absentee Balloting
 Olga R. Rodriguez - Associated Press
| | Victor Gonzalez speaks during a press conference Wednesday Nov. 16, 2005, in Mexico City. Gonzalez said Wednesady he has abandoned his unlikely bid for Mexico's presidency, but will still shape the July 2006 race as a rich and powerful voice for the poor. (AP/Jose Luis Magana) |
Reynosa, Mexico – A small army of electoral workers carrying absentee ballot registration forms was being deployed Tuesday in airports, land crossings and customs checkpoints along Mexico's border with the United States.
Their mission? To get the thousands of migrants returning home for the holidays to register for the nation's first absentee ballot. The votes from the millions of Mexicans living abroad, mostly in the United States, could swing July's presidential election.
However, some Mexican migrants in the United States have complained that a lack of information has made registration confusing and difficult. Many also lack a voter identification card, which is required to register and can only be obtained in Mexico.
As of Nov. 1, only 773 eligible voters had mailed back their absentee voter forms, electoral officials said.
The border registration drive, which will last two months, is aimed at making the process easier and getting more people to participate.
"This is a completely new program, and it takes time for citizens to learn about their rights," said Alberto Alonso y Coria, voter registry director for Mexico's Federal Electoral Institute. "We are expecting a spike (in registrations) in the coming weeks, as we get closer to the deadline."
Previously, Mexican citizens living abroad had to return home to vote and many were unable to make the trip. In June, Congress voted to allow mail-in ballots from outside Mexico, something migrant groups had demanded for years.
Under the new law, voters can register for an absentee ballot by filling out forms available on the electoral institute's Web site and at Mexican consulates in the United States and other foreign countries.
Absentee ballot request forms must be sent by registered mail and postmarked by Jan. 15.
The border effort includes information booths in the cities of Reynosa, Nuevo Laredo, Matamoros, Tijuana, Nogales, Agua Prieta, Ciudad Juarez, Piedras Negras and Ciudad Acuna. Information centers will also open in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey.
One of the six information booths in Reynosa is set up just off an international bridge at the customs office, where all those driving to Mexico's interior must purchase an import permit for their cars.
Electoral workers will also be stationed at the airport, bus station and immigration checkpoints outside the city.
Migrants will be able to apply for a voter registration card at the electoral institute's offices in border cities. Before, migrants had to return to their home states to apply for a card.
Electoral officials said the cards will be processed in about two weeks – as opposed to the usual monthlong wait – so they will be ready before migrants return to the United States.
Electoral officials have also used professional athletes to promote registration. The Chivas USA soccer team visited the Mexican consulate in Los Angeles to publicize the new program, and race car driver Adrian Fernandez made a similar visit in Dallas.
Government officials estimate that 11 million Mexicans live abroad, 98 percent of them in the United States. About 4 million of those are believed to be registered voters. |
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