Central Florida supervisors of elections and local Latino leaders on Tuesday called on Latinos to register to vote ahead of this year’s November election.
The action came on National Voter Registration Day, a day devoted to getting all Americans registered to vote.
Orange, Seminole and Osceola County supervisors of elections joined the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund in this effort.
NALEO Director Arturo Vargas said that it’s important for Latinos to understand their power this election.
He said 33 million Latinos are eligible to vote, accounting for 25% of all young voters. Speaking in Spanish, he said Latinos are the future of the country and should act like they are.
“Somos el futuro de los Estados Unidos. Y nos tenemos que comportar como si fuéramos el futuro,” Vargas said.
That’s why he said his organization is partnering with other Latino nonprofits to get the word out to vote.
“Latinos comprise the nation's second largest eligible electorate in the United States, second only to non-Hispanic whites, but we're not the second largest voting population,” Vargas said.
To help with these efforts, Orange County Supervisor of Elections Glen Gilzean said he’s proposed a $1 million dollar budget increase in 2025 for an OC Votes program.
The program would help his office reach Latino voters and other underserved voter populations through education and outreach.
“My goal is, if we can expand by having relationships with community nonprofits and getting them to be an extension of this office, then we'll be able to touch the 1.4 million residents that are here in Orange County,” Gilzean said.
In Osceola County, which has the largest population of Latino voters in Central Florida, Supervisor of Elections Mary Jane Arrington said everything is in Spanish and English.
“I always say you vote what you know,” said Arrington. “We have two websites. We have an English website and a Spanish website. Every page, every word is translated by a real person. I have two ladies, and I trust them and they translate every page.”
She said her office also provides ballots and other voter registration information in Spanish, and workers at every polling station but one are bilingual.
Beyond these efforts, Seminole County Supervisor of Elections Chris Anderson said he wants voters to remember their “why” this November election.
He said voting after all is personal, and so is the decision to make sure you’re registered to have your voice heard in November.
“My grandmother, she didn't get the right to vote, she didn't vote till 1951, and her parents didn't get to vote,” said Anderson, who is Black. “My great grandfather was a civil rights activist. He ran from the KKK one night, and he hid in a graveyard all night long as he was fighting for civil rights. And so many did that. So many people that look like us, that didn't have the opportunity to cast their ballot, now have that opportunity, and they should take the opportunity to use that.”
He put it simply: “You can't complain about the things that are wrong if you're not willing to stand for the things that are right.”
Watch this video to learn more about voter registration in Florida:
The last day to register to vote in Florida is Oct. 7.
Register to vote online in Florida by clicking here.
You can check to see that your voter registration is up to date here.
To register to vote in Florida you must:
- Be a Citizen of the United States of America;
- Be a Florida resident;
- Be at least 18 years old (you may pre-register to vote if you are 16);
- Not have been adjudicated mentally incapacitated with respect to voting in Florida or any other state without having the right to vote restored;
- Not be ineligible due to a felony conviction. According to the Florida Division of Elections, a felony conviction in Florida for murder or a sexual offense makes a person ineligible to vote. But for any other felony conviction in Florida, they can register and vote if they’ve completed all terms of their sentence. That includes prison or jail time; parole, probation, or other forms of supervision; and payment of the total amount of all fines, fees, costs, and restitution ordered as part of the felony sentence.
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