Washington, D.C. – U.S. Vote Foundation (US Vote) and Hispanic Communications Network (HCN) proudly announce the debut of Voto Ausente USA, a Spanish-language website which offers state-specific absentee ballot request services for voters in 12 states.

"Hispanic voter turnout has typically been below expectations. The scheduling and traveling challenges of working people, parents, students, and those who are homebound become their own voting barriers. While most of these voters have access to the Internet, printers and postal services; what they don’t have is time," said Susan Dzieduszycka-Suinat, President and CEO of the U.S. Vote Foundation.

Carlos Alcázar, President and CEO of HCN emphasized, "Voto Ausente USA offers an alternative to many Latino voters who may otherwise not cast a ballot because going to the polling place is burdensome or intimidating. Many have no knowledge of their rights to vote in this manner. The Voto Ausente USA website now provides a tailored service for Latino voters to request an absentee ballot, a service long-awaited by this voter group."

According to the Pew Hispanic Center, in 2008, Latino eligible voters accounted for 9.5% of all eligible voters, up from 8.2% in 2004. The 2008 Hispanic voter turnout rate was only 49.9% compared to 65.2% for black eligible voters.[i]

The Voto Ausente USA state-specific absentee ballot services are now available for voters in 12 states with the highest numbers of Spanish-speaking populations[ii] with the exception of Illinois and North Carolina: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, New York, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington.

To support election officials in processing the applications, VotoAusenteUSA.org generates their individual state-specific forms with local election office addresses and contact details.

About U.S. Vote Foundation (US Vote)
U.S. Vote Foundation (US Vote) provides domestic U.S. voters with public access to innovative voter registration tools and services. It is a trademarked initiative of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Overseas Vote Foundation. More information is available at usvotefoundation.org, Twitter (@us_vote), Facebook (US Vote), and Youtube (usvotefoundation).

About Hispanic Communications Network (HCN)
HCN is the leading producer and distributor of educational and informational media serving U.S. Hispanic communities. A full-service social marketing company, HCN is dedicated to creating communications products that improve the quality of life for Latinos living in the US. See more at hcnmedia.com, @tweet_HCN and Facebook LaRedHispana.

[i] Pew Hispanic Research Center, 'Dissecting the 2008 Electorate: Most Diverse in U.S. History,' by Mark Hugo Lopez and Paul Taylor