Monterey County hosts voter information session for Spanish speakers

The Monterey County Elections Office has been reaching out to first time voters through a series of information sessions.

On Thursday, election officials hosted a session just for Spanish speakers. They said the Hispanic community has shown more interest in voting this year.

“They want to make sure how to find a polling place, how do they need to register to vote, how often do they need to register to vote,” said Greta Arevalo the elections program manager.

State data shows just in the first three months of this year, voter registration among Hispanics doubled, compared to the same months in 2012.

Some believe Donald Trump’s ‘deport them all’ talk may be the reason.

At a rally in Eugene, Oregon the Republican front-runner said,”We will build the wall and who is going to pay for the wall?” The crowd replied loudly, ‘Mexico.’ Trump said, “100 percent right, I never thought you’d guess that one.”

In Monterey County, Hispanics make up more than 50 percent of the population. But Hispanic organizations across the country are encouraging the community to vote.

“We have been focusing on a lot of the millennials and young Latino voters because they really do have a voice in this election and we see they are becoming much more engaged,” said Antonio Arellano with Mi Familia Vota.

The Hispanic vote has been historically low. In 2012, the Pew Research Center said fewer than half of Hispanic eligible voters cast a ballot.

That’s part of why the county is making sure all those interested know what to do.

“We cover how to register, how often a person needs to register to vote, the importance of knowing what political party to register under and how to prepare for the June election,” said Arevalo.

The next information session is on Monday in Seaside for both English and Spanish speakers. For more information on when and when go to www.montereycountyelections.us.