This Saturday, October 14, Mexicans abroad will have the doors open at the Mexican consulates in the United States and Canada to request their voter ID without the need for an appointment.
They only have to show up from seven in the morning until 3:30 in the afternoon. It is recommended not to wait until 3:30 to arrive.
It is the only procedure that can be done on Saturday, October 14 without an appointment. For passports and consular registration, you must have an appointment, since you will be able to do these procedures if you did not already have them scheduled for that day.
“It is a great opportunity for the community because as we know, sometimes it is impossible to make an appointment at the Mexican consulates, but now the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stepped up and launched this Saturday credentialing session,” said activist Maribel. Solache.
“We have to take advantage of the fact that it is a Saturday, and that many people do not work, or they can go early and then go to work,” he said.
He specified that the requirements are to be 18 years old and have:
- Birth certificate or document proving Mexican nationality.
- Valid identification with photograph (With issue date no older than 10 years), it may be the consular registration.
- Proof of address (With issue date no older than 3 months).
It is important that the documents presented are original, without deletions or amendments.
“This is a call for the community to overflow and go to the 52 United States consulates and get their voter ID card,” said activist Solache.
He recalled that the 2024 election is going to be very important because there will be a vote for president of Mexico, there will also be elections for governor in several states and also for deputies and senators.
“So I hope those who don’t have one come this Saturday to get their credentials. And this also goes for 18-year-old boys who have dual nationality. They can obtain their voter ID card; and those who already have it, but it is expired, must go and renew it.”
Solache specified that it is important to take advantage of this credentialing day because if we do not do it, he does not believe that there will be another event of this magnitude, because the deadline to register and choose the modality to vote, whether electronic, postal or in person, is December 20. February.
“We are almost four months away from the deadline, and we doubt there will be another credentialing day like this one. So we must take advantage of it,” said the activist, who added that the date to register on the nominal lists and define the voting method began on September 1.
In the United States, one million 457 thousand 787 voter credentials have been issued. In the 2018 presidential election, almost 100,000 Mexicans voted.
“To date, only 23,649 people have registered on the nominal lists to be able to vote from abroad. Registration is something we have to do every time there are elections in Mexico.”
He stressed that it is very important that we take advantage of getting the voter card, so as not to complain later that they cannot vote.
It should be remembered that once the voter card is requested, the time to process it and receive it by mail at the address indicated by the applicant lasts on average two months.
Last year, 2022, the Mexican Consulate in Los Angeles received 19,000 applications to obtain a voter ID card. “An average of 54 credentials per day.”
Solache mentioned that people who have a voter ID card residing in Mexico will be able to vote from the United States, but they must enter the registration page where they will have to comply with a series of steps such as submitting proof of residence in the United States, in order to participate. in the elections from here without having to go to Mexico.
“So we are looking for the million and a half Mexicans who already have voter credentials to register to vote from abroad, and we hope that this Saturday many people will arrive at the consulates to get their voter card.”