It's 90 degrees outside, but that's not stopping Denise Marrero from helping people register to vote ahead of the primary election.
Marrero is a community organizer with the nonprofit Faith in Florida. She's stationed outside the Beth-El Farmworker Ministry building, a hub for the predominantly Latino community in Wimauma.
On this Wednesday afternoon, residents are lined up to receive their weekly food from the pantry. Marrero is hoping to catch those who want to vote but don't know how to register.
Registration can be a barrier if you don't speak English and are unfamiliar with the process, she said.
"Voting is power," said Marrero, "We're making sure people take the power of their vote into their hands, so that they can vote their values this year."
She said most people are aware of the presidential election but fewer are informed about the Aug. 20 primary, as well as the deadlines to register, which is 30 days before election day.
Marrero greets Margarito Velis in Spanish. Velis immigrated from Mexico and became a U.S. citizen six years ago. As a citizen, he believes it's his duty to vote, he said, but he needs help navigating the online form.
With guidance from Marrero, Velis is able to complete it.
"Contento," Velis said after registering, meaning "happy" in Spanish.
"It's important because you have to show individual support for a president who can pass the right policies," Velis said.
Events like this help boost voter participation in minority communities, but groups like Marrero's are facing their own barriers this year, she said.
Florida is among several states that passed laws making it harder for groups to conduct registration drives.
Citing concerns about fraud, the state's Republican-controlled legislature passed a law last year that increased penalties for third-party voter registration groups if applications they submit on voters' behalves contain mistakes, are delivered to the wrong county or are returned later than the law requires.
Groups could be fined up to $250,000 a year. To avoid that risk, groups including Faith in Florida halted registration drives.
Instead, of registering people directly, members like Marrero, share QR codes with potential voters, which leads to the state's online registration site, where they can register themselves.
"There's a chilling effect in Florida when it comes to helping people register to vote," said Marrero.
Yet, registration events are the very tools minority communities rely on. Black and Latino voters are far more likely to register to vote through third-party voter registration groups, according to a report from University of Florida professor Daniel Smith.
And there is a continuing need to increase voter participation in this area, according to Teresita Matos-Post, executive director of Beth-El Farmworker Ministry.
Hillsborough County data shows that Hispanic voters make up about 20% of the registered voters in Wimauma precincts. But about half of the population is Hispanic, according to 2022 American Community Survey data.
"This community particularly is predominantly Latino, Hispanic, so it's super important to educate people about the ... democratic process in the United States, because they might not be familiar with how that works," said Matos-Post.
Some residents have just become U.S. citizens, so voting is often "not part of their family story," she said.
"Many people don't know about the ways to vote, many don't know that there's a primary happening or who the candidates are," said Matos-Post, "but that's what we're doing today, to convey the importance of their participation."
