The Mexican flag waves outside the consulate office in Tucson.
Mexican citizens living in Arizona have until March 31 to register to vote in Mexico’s presidential election this summer. In addition to the Mexican presidency, more than 3,000 state and federal positions in Mexico must be filled, making this the largest election cycle in Mexican history.
The Mexican government has initiated a new voting registration system to make it easier for Mexicans living abroad to vote. Instead of having to physically go to Mexico, they can now do all the paperwork in the U.S. at any one of Mexico's 50 U.S. Consulate offices.
David Maciel, a UCLA Mexican film professor, has been asked by the Mexican government to promote the new way of registering to vote for Mexican citizens living in the U.S. Maciel said there is a sense of urgency for Mexico to get its citizens abroad to cast their votes because election experts predict the presidential election will be won or lost on the narrowest of margins.
"And if the percentage is 1, 2 or 3 points, the Mexican vote here could be absolutely decisive."
In the past, Mexican citizens had to physically cross back into Mexico to vote. Now they only need to get to one of 50 Mexican consulates in the U.S. and bring three items: a birth certificate, proof of U.S. address and a photo ID. The Mexican consulate office will take it from there.
On March 31, the consulate offices in Tucson, Nogales and Phoenix will be open until midnight. They are expecting that up to 50,000 votes for Mexico’s next president will come from Arizona.
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