Participation of Latino Voters in California’s Recall Election is Essential to Our Representative Democracy
“The Central Valley Immigrant Integration Collaborative (CVIIC) encourages all California voters to participate in the September 14 recall election,” asserts Jesus Martinez, Executive Director of CVIIC. “In particular,” he added, “we would like to invite California Latino voters to register and vote. The Latino community is now the largest demographic group in the state and the participation of Latino voters in California’s recall election is essential to our representative democracy.”
The September 14 recall election will decide whether Gavin Newsom will be recalled from the office of Governor.Californians can still register to vote up until the day of the election by going to the election office of the county in which they reside. The California Secretary of State has an online directory of county election offices here: https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/voting-resources/county-elections-offices
Registered California voters should have received a ballot. The ballot can be returned by mail and, in some counties, there are also special ballot drop boxes. Moreover, on the day of the election the ballots can also be taken to a voting center.
The significance of California Latino voters is great and will only increase in coming years, as reflected in the recently released 2020 Census results. These census reports indicate that Latinos now constitute 39.4% of California’s population, making them the largest racial and ethnic group in the state.
As an organization that has a nonprofit 501(c)3 status and is nonpartisan, CVIIC is concerned with promoting participation in the American democratic process. The focus of its activities for the September 14 recall election is to inform the public of the importance of the election and assist them in understanding the process. To accomplish this, CVIIC has launched intensive and multi-pronged informational campaigns aimed at Latino families in the Central Valley. This has been done through outreach channels that include a text messaging program, Facebook and other social media platforms, mass email campaigns, interviews in local media outlets, and in person events.
“Electoral participation strengthens our democracy and we aim to continue to promote voter registration and participation among Central Valley Latinos and other communities in the region,” adds Jesus Martinez.
