Registration For Mexican Expats To Vote In Election Lags In US

By Jude Joffe-Block
February 18, 2012

Photo courtesy IFE
In order to vote, Mexican citizens must have a voter card. Since the cards are only issued in Mexico, the requirement has been a barrier for some expats wishing to participate.

LAS VEGAS -- “Mexico has a history of corrupted elections,” said Lorena Pike, a Las Vegas Spanish instructor and domestic violence counselor from Mexico City. Pike requested a ballot, but had trouble convincing others to do the same.

“Probably, we as citizens don't want to exercise the right, because we think, ‘Well it is going to be the same thing,'” she said.

The total number of Mexican expats around the globe who registered for a ballot increased from 56,749 in 2006 to 61,687, according to Mexico’s federal election agency.

About 76 percent of the applications came from Mexicans living in the U.S., though Mexican citizens living in 113 different countries around the globe signed up to vote.

Twenty-six percent of the ballot requests from the U.S. came from Mexicans living in California, 15 percent were from Texas, and 11 percent were from Illinois.

Eligible voters are expected to receive their ballots by mail in April or May.