Consul General calls US citizens in Mexico to vote

Paul Antoine Matos
Eduardo del Buey
Foto: Notimex
La Jornada Maya

Mérida, Yucatán
Miércoles 19 de octubre, 2016

In three weeks, Americans citizens will choose their new Commander in Chief. The election process has been tough and dirty. The Republican nominee, the billionare Donald J. Trump, faces the Democrat candidate, Hillary Clinton “the queen of the party” in a fierce battle.

For the election, the United States Consulate in Merida is receiving the ballots and resolving issues about the process.

Since the primaries began earlier this year, the Consulate has established a mail box in Merida and the agencies in Cancun and Playa del Carmen, so the citizens can vote there, said Consul General David Micó in an interview with [i]La Jornada Maya[/i].

With town halls in those three cities, the people from US have received information about the electoral process and how to vote. What the consulate has seen in these events is that “this election awakens more interest than others”.

Why should the American citizens in Mexico vote if they are not living in the United States anymore? “Because they still are citizens with their full right to vote and have a voice”.

Micó said that the number of voters from the peninsula is unknown because voting is secret, so the Consulate ignores how many people have placed their ballot in the mail boxes. But there’s also the possibility of voting via the Internet, depending on the rules of the state where the voter is registered.

One of the members of the consulate showed his ballot from Utah. There are different names, including both for the candidates of the two main parties, but also from the smaller (almost insignificant) parties like the libertarian, the green and constitution, among others.

The ballots for Utah include Clinton’s and Trump’s names, the state’s candidates for Senator and Representatives, and others like the Attorney General and State Auditor.
The process to vote, as Micó described, is that the migrant that leaves the US needs to notify to his or her State that they are going to live in another country, so that they can “vote as absentees”.

Then, during the days before the election on November 8, the people living overseas need to go to the web page fvap.gov, where they can select their State of residence –the one where they they lived before leaving the United States, register with their social security number or their driver’s license, and request a Federal Post Card Application.

When they receive it they can vote. Depending on the state, the voter can submit the ballot via the Internet or through the mail box. Some states offer a stamped envelop so the vote can be sent for free, in other cases the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) offers them.

The last day to submit their vote at the US Consulate is October 28, 10 days before the election, so the ballots can reach their states and be counted, said Micó. But also, he added, the states individually choose the times to submit the vote.