Arizona coalition hoping to register 75,000 new Latino voters
Aug 16, 2016, 12:19 PM | Updated: Aug 17, 2016, 11:07 am
PHOENIX — An Arizona coalition has set a lofty goal: To register 75,000 new Latino voters in time for November’s general election.
One Arizona’s Viva the Vote campaign officially began Monday.
“I register people to vote because it’s personal,” Stephanie Rodriguez, an organizer with Mi Familia Vota Arizona, said in a press release. “It’s not about blue or red for me. It’s about a drastic change that can shape or break the future of my family.”
Alejandra Gomez — whose organization, Living United for Change in Arizona, is part of the One Arizona coalition to get voters registered — said the group is up to the task.
“We’ve registered over 100,000 people, knocked on over 1 million doors and made over 3 million attempts” in the last six years, she said Monday.
One Arizona was originally founded after the passage of Senate Bill 1070, an Arizona law that cracked down on illegal immigration, particularly among Hispanics.
Gomez said the group hopes to keep Arizona on the path that has seen portions of the bill struck down, hopefully leading to a more inclusive state.
“That direction is no longer anti-immigrant,” she said. “It’s pro-worker, making sure that we are getting out (and earning) a livable wage and it’s inclusive of our LGBTQIA community.”
KTAR’s Corbin Carson contributed to this report.
