U.S Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Orlando, and local Latino leaders held a press event on Monday to urge their communities to vote in this year’s primary and general elections.
Organizers said the call to action, announced at a Puerto Rican bakery in Orlando, was precipitated by two factors: representation and immigration.
The deadline to register to vote for the August primaries is July 20.
Representation
Orange County and the rest of Central Florida have hosted a growing Latino population over the past decade. Now, more than a third of Orange County residents are Hispanic, according to U.S. Census estimates.
That gives Hispanic voters an opportunity to be more represented in government at all levels, Frost said.
“I just think it's important for us to realize we have a long way to go,” Frost said. “We've come a long way, but we want all Latinos here to know that. We want them to go vote. …. We want them to make sure that they use their voice.”
Frost said that the Orange County School Board got its first Latina member less than a decade ago, in Johanna Lopez. Now, she’s a state representative.
There are more Latino candidates appearing on the ballot, too. William Díaz, founder of the immigration assistance nonprofit Casa de Venezuela, named as examples Mayra Uribe, the Orange County commissioner who is running for county mayor, and Maribel Gomez Cordero, the county commissioner running for county clerk of courts as a Democrat.
Jimmy Torres-Vélez, the executive director for Latino nonprofit APM, said getting people to vote takes precedence over how they vote.
“It's important for our communities to come out and vote — if you decided to vote for them or not,” he said. “But the important part is to do your work, do your assignment, study the candidates.”
Immigration
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court gave the Trump administration authority to end, without judicial intervention, its Temporary Protected Status designation for hundreds of thousands of immigrants living in the country legally.
That clears the way for the executive branch to expand its policy of mass deportation of immigrants to Haitians and Syrians.
Responding to that policy will require action, said Díaz, an American citizen from Venezuela.
“If you want any other legal instrument that can allow the Venezuelan people a stay of peace in the country, you need to step forward and vote in this election,” Díaz said. ”That is the opportunity that democracy gave us to exercise our right, and it's the only legal way to fight for our right.”
Díaz urged immigrants who can’t vote to encourage their U.S. citizen relatives to do so and to spread the word on social media.
The Trump administration moved to terminate Venezuela’s TPS designation, effective in November. Díaz praised Central Florida lawmakers who have supported extending it, including Frost and Democratic Reps. Darren Soto and Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
The deadline to register for the August primary is July 20. More information on registering can be found at the state Division of Elections website at registertovoteflorida.gov.
