Mexicans in Phoenix brave excessive heat, 5-hour wait to vote in Mexico's historic election
Amid long lines, technical delays and an excessive heat warning, hundreds of Mexican citizens exercised their right to vote in Phoenix. Hundreds of Mexican citizens voted in a historic election in Phoenix, which aims to give Mexico its first female president. The Consulate General of Mexico in Phoenix opened at 7 a.m. with long lines, technical delays, and an excessive heat warning. The National Election Institute (INE), the Mexican agency that organizes the electoral process, allowed for an influx of non-registered voters. The long wait was attributed to the large influx of unregistered voters and the difficulty of using the digital voting machines at the consulate, which presents a challenge for seniors. By 12 p.m., over 300 votes had been cast. The voting was held at 20 locations in the United States chosen as overseas voting centers.
Publié : il y a 10 mois par Silvia Solis dans Politics World
Amid long lines, technical delays and an excessive heat warning, hundreds of Mexican citizens exercised their right to vote in Phoenix in a historic election that intends to give Mexico its first female president.
The polls opened at the Consulate General of Mexico in Phoenix, located on Third Street and McDowell, at 7 a.m., but voters arrived hours before, some as early as Saturday night to ensure their vote and avoid the lines.
That was the case for María Eriksen, who arrived at the consulate on Saturday night with five others to sleep inside the building with the permission of the National Election Institute (INE) — the Mexican agency that organizes the electoral process — in an effort to avoid the chaos that she foresaw Sunday.
Eriksen, a Phoenix resident, got in line a few minutes before 7 a.m. She cast her ballot just before 10 a.m.
Beatriz Cabrera, INE liaison and one of three officials coordinating the Phoenix voting process, said that by 9 a.m. there were approximately 500 people in line outside the consulate. Five hours later, hundreds of people could still be seen outside, while only 300 ballots had been cast.
Cabrera attributed the long wait not only to the unprecedented number of non-registered voters, but also to the digital voting machines being used at the consulate, which presents a challenge for seniors.
"The big problem here is that older people find it a bit difficult to use the technology," Cabrera told The Arizona Republic, explaining that casting the vote should only take between 4 and 5 minutes per person and that no technological issues have arisen at the polls. "However, we are trying to support everyone to make this happen more quickly."
By noon, the line remained just as long, stretching throughout the consulate parking lot. In the immediate vicinity of the building, only a few canopies covered those present from the heat, while others covered themselves with their own umbrellas. Excessive temperatures of up to 101 degrees were expected, which is common for Phoenix in June.
In Mexico, citizens are able to vote in elections if they hold an active voter registration card, which is very similar to an identification card issued by states in the U.S.
Prior to Sunday's election, Mexican citizens living abroad were asked to register to vote by a February deadline. However, according to Cabrera, INE made plans to allow for many of unregistered voters in the U.S. with an active card to vote in this election.
But even with those plans, consulates across the U.S., Canada and Spain were seeing unprecedented numbers, the agency said in a Sunday afternoon statement.
“In cities like Madrid, Los Angeles, Chicago and Phoenix, the large influx of people who wish to vote at the consular headquarters has exceeded expectations,” the statement reads.
Phoenix was one of 20 locations in the United States chosen as overseas voting centers.
The ballot boxes at the polling station in Phoenix are electronic and all votes are counted digitally, said polling station president María de la Luz Reyes.
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By 12 p.m., just over 300 votes had been cast — 93 from people registered to vote and 212 from unregistered voters.
"We have a large influx of unregistered voters," said Antonio Lau, head of citizen identification at INE. "Even people who had never voted are coming here to the consulate to take advantage of their opportunity to vote."
Initially, INE had decided to only make 1,000 additional ballots available, but then added 500, in anticipation for the crowd they were seeing Sunday.
The increase in the number of ballots was based on discussions with people from the community and the decision of the general council, which determined the possible need to receive more voters, in addition to the operational capacity of the polling station. "Of course, we would like to have a million ballots, however, for operational and logistical reasons… 1,500 extra is already too big an effort," Lau said.
As a comparison, in Mexico City, according to Lau, a large neighborhood receives approximately 1,000 ballots.
April Elena Peraza Carrillo, who is in Phoenix visiting family from Bahías de Huatulco, Oaxaca, arrived at the consulate at 5 a.m. to make sure she could cast her vote. Seeing how disorganized the line was outside the consulate, Peraza Carrillo and her sister began to help folks find the line and get all information needed to cast their ballot.
"Many people began to want to pass as disabled and elderly and with three, four family members," Peraza Carrillo told La Voz. "They started fighting at the door and my sister and I started organizing".
Luis Guzmán lined up at 6:30 a.m. Given a recent operation, he had the opportunity to move to the front of the line in a state of disability and was gearing up to cast his ballot near the entrance of the consulate.
“This is a disaster,” Guzmán said, referring to the number of people waiting and the lack of organization that he attributed to the inefficiency of the voting machines.
According to Guzmán, the five polling stations present in the consulate were only seeing a rotation of voters every half hour.
Eriksen, for her part, was not the only one who arrived the night before. She estimated that about 20 people slept at the consulate.
Despite the long wait, she said she was proud to have been able to exercise her right to vote.
"For us the vote is very important, it is very important for us to come to vote since we were given the opportunity this year to come to vote here, for that and above all for democracy," Eriksen told La Voz. "It's doing my bit, voting for a great change that we want."
All those who registered before February 25 have their ballot secured, de la Luz Reyes said, and would be able to vote without delays. The remaining unregistered folks who manage to access the building before 5 p.m. will be able to cast their vote until 5:30 p.m.