Mexicans living in the U.S. vote early in their homeland’s historic presidential election

Report Issue

Please complete the required fields.

Your Name

Email

Reason (required)
This post contains broken linksPost has incorrect informationPost has spamCopyright IssueOther

Description

Submit

Both of Mexico’s front-running presidential candidates are women — and voters like Diana Garcia of Dallas say they are excited and “proud” to elect the country’s first female president.

Garcia is among the more than 675,000 Mexicans living abroad — the majority of them in the U.S. — who are registered to vote and have the voter identification needed to participate in the election, according to the National Electoral Institute.

With early voting already underway ahead of Election Day on June 2, Mexicans living in the U.S. are getting ready to participate in Mexico’s national election, one of the most consequential in the country’s recent history.

While their numbers may seem low compared to the nearly 98 million people registered to vote in Mexico, “that doesn’t mean they’re less important,” Ibero-American University professor and Mexican political scientist Mario Campos said, adding that there has been an increased interest in engaging these voters, “which is a positive sign.”

Many Mexicans in the U.S. have already voted by mail, online and in-person at selected consulates — effectively participating in Mexico’s “largest election in its history,” according to Lila Abed, acting director of the Mexican Institute at the Wilson Center, a nonpartisan research organization.

Voters are also electing all 628 seats in both chambers of Congress and tens of thousands of local positions, according to the National Electoral Institute.

Campos said the voting by U.S.-based Mexicans seems to respond to a broader effort centered on leveraging the cultural connections between Mexicans residing abroad and their homeland to strengthen economic and political ties between Mexico and the U.S., where 97% of those who have left Mexico live.

“We have fought for over 20 years to see the voice of Mexicans in the United States counted and for the vote to be made more accessible,” said Francisco Moreno, co-founder and executive director of the Council of Mexican Federations, a coalition of 14 groups representing the interests of Mexicans living in the U.S.

Some Mexican residents will be able to receive education at community colleges in CA