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| Volume 11, No. 43 |
July 28-3, 2010 |
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| | Citywide voter initiative wrapping up | | By Meagan O’Toole-Pitts | |
The El Paso Voter Education Project, Inc., a voter registration drive led by a broad coalition of local organizations, is nearing its end after two years.
Volunteers registered more than 200 voters at Saturday’s UTEP game against UCF in an effort to reach the goal of registering 50,000 voters by Oct.6, in time for the general elections on Nov. 4.
“People were really receptive of the positives we’re doing, and this gets us closer to registering the highest number of young people,” said Dave Cortez, field organizer for the El Paso County Voter Consortium. “At the game, we register a lot of people under 30 and that’s really positive. El Paso has about 270,000 young eligible voters and that’s an enormous block.”
The drive was started by the consortium, as well as the Southwest Voter Registration and Education Project, the Willie C. Velasquez Institute, the local NAACP chapter, LULAC and several other organizations.
The drive, which began as an EPCC project, has already distributed nearly 40,000 voter registration cards in both English and Spanish, said Paul De La Peña, executive director of the El Paso Voter Consortium.
“We are trying to get voters from 18 to 40 registered and expect to register another 5,000 in the last week before Oct. 6,” De La Peña said.
Also partnered with Ya Es Hora, Ve Y Vota, a drive to register, educate and mobilize the Latino community, the drive has dovetailed with a 25-percent increase in new voter registration.
“This is an amazing number and only possible through a broad-based community grassroots, net-roots effort with our partnering organizations,” De La Pena said.
Other partners include El Paso Electric, YMCA, Wells Fargo, El Paso Convention and Visitors Bureau, El Paso County Coliseum, El Paso Chamber of Commerce, UTEP Center for Civic Engagement, student governments of EPCC and UTEP and several others.
The collaborative effort has held drives at about 98 events since August, including naturalization ceremonies, festivals, sporting events, and high-profile concerts.
“We need to get people engaged and involved,” De La Pena said. “Voters need to have their registration card in the mail by Oct. 6 midnight in order to vote Nov. 4.”
For more information about volunteering, donating to the drive or registering, call De La Pena at 422-0566 or visit epvote.org.
Comments or questions about this story? E-mail Secret@whatsuppub.com
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