KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- Jesus and his wife Maria Gonzalez made some changes on their voter registration card with the help of the Hispanic Federation.
They want to make sure everything is accurate for the midterm elections.
- Latino non-profits work to increase voter participation
- About 100,000 eligible voters in Osceola are Hispanic
- LINK: Decision 2018 Voting Guide
In Spanish he told Spectrum News 13, “I think it’s our right. So we can choose the person that will represent us for the years to come.
Local groups like the Hispanic Federation, Mi Familia Vota, and UnidosUS announced a joint effort to increase Hispanic voter participation.
“We are also the voice. We are part of this community. And we know we need to make some measures and also take some actions,” said Yanidsi Velez the Deputy Director for the Hispanic Federation. “Part of that is just to participate on the electorate process.”
Osceola County has 212,000 eligible voters and a little more than 100,000 like the Gonzalez’s are Hispanic -- that’s about half of the population.
Mary Jane Arrington, the Osceola County Supervisor of Elections, said the number of Hispanic registered voters has increased in part thanks to Central Florida nonprofits pushing folks to register to vote.
“I know they have been working really hard, and they’ve kept us really busy. And that’s a good thing. And I know they are out in the community,” Arrington said. “We can’t be everywhere, our office can’t be everywhere. They fill that void, and we appreciate the hard work they do.”
Gonzalez is hoping the rest of his Hispanic brothers and sisters will come out to the polls.
We have to represent our country. And the only way to do that is if we vote,” he added.
Early voting polls in Osceola County run from Aug. 17 through Aug. 26.