Going Door To Door To Get The Latino Vote

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Story Published: Aug 3, 2008 at 6:59 PM PDT

By Sade Malloy

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Yakima -- "Have you received your ballot?"

Sunday might be your day off but for Ivan it's just another day in his outdoor office.

He's going door to door trying to get out the Latino vote.

He and two other organizers they spend on average five hours a day, six, sometimes seven, days a week trying to get Yakima County's Latino population registered.

Sade Malloy, Action News says, "Is there a specific cultural challenge that you have to overcome?
Felicia Hernandez, Latino Vote Proj. Volunteer says, "A lot of it is a language barrier if you're not too proficient in English."

The Latino Vote Project has their work cut out for them.

Ivan says only about 20 percent of Yakima County's 100,000 registered Latinos actually vote.

"When we don't vote we don't have a voice"

Sade Malloy, Action News says, "While going door to door in this North Yakima neighborhood one of the reasons we got for not voting was lack of education on the voting system."

Ernestino Garcia says, "I want more information on the candidates in reality I don't know much about them."

On this trip through town Ivan got only one person registered and collected two completed ballots.

It's not a lot but it's something.

His intentions may be good but not everybody sees it that way and sometimes people just walk away.

Ivan Garcia, Latino Vote Proj. says, "Dictatorship, corruption in government so when they come into a new system they have that same mindset."

Ivan says it goes back to history and a distrust in politics.

Something he's trying to change one person at a time.

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