Citizens of Mexico who live outside of the country have been invited by the country to participate in its presidential elections by voting at one of 20 locations throughout the United States.
In Arizona, Mexican nationals can cast their vote for one of the candidates in the Mexico presidential election on June 2 at the Consulate General of Mexico in Phoenix.
Current Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is term limited and not seeking reelection. Former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum represents the incumbent’s political party, is widely seen as his heir, and has promised to continue the incumbent’s policies, according to the Associated Press. The news outlet reported Sheinbaum could be “more of a ‘leftist'” than López Obrador once in office.
Sheinbaum is considered the favorite to win election according to most polls. Her strongest opponent is Senator Xóchitl Gálvez, of the country’s Strength and Heart for Mexico alliance of conservative parties, meaning Mexico’s next president is almost certain to be its first female leader.
Though Arizona Luminaria reported, “50,901 Mexicans submitted their credentials to vote at the Mexican consulate in Phoenix,” a more recent report by The Arizona Republic claimed the consulate has prepared an additional “1,500 ballots available for Mexican citizens with a valid electoral ID who did not register to vote abroad by the February deadline.”
Mexican citizens living abroad will be allowed to participate in the country’s elections for the first time in 2024. The Mixteco Indigena Community Organization Project recently noted, “With more than 37 million Mexicans living in the United States, making up 60 percent of the Hispanic population, their participation in Mexican elections is essential.”
The push by Mexico for its citizens living in the United States to vote in its election comes as Republicans worry that illegal immigrants will attempt to meddle in the country’s own elections in November.
While concerns by Republicans about illegal immigrants participating in federal elections remain mostly partisan, 52 Democrats recently crossed party lines to vote for legislation the U.S. House that would block the implementation of a law in Washington, D.C. to allow illegal immigrants to vote in local elections.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Election Day in Mexico” by ProtoplasmaKid CC4.0.
