As early voting begins, so does push for more Latinos to vote
A campaign is kicking off in East Austin to urge more voters to go to the polls.
Early voting in the municipal election is underway. Voter turnout in city elections is often low, but in the Latino community, officials say it is even lower.
On Wednesday, the "Get the Latino Vote Out" campaign kicks off with a party outside the polling booths at Parque Zaragosa. It starts at 5:30 and lasts until 8:00 p.m.
Former Travis County Commissioner Marcos DeLeon is one of the organizers. DeLeon says currently only about one to two percent of the Latino community vote in municipal elections.
"We plan to change that," said DeLeon.
He is working with El Concilio, a family of Mexican-American neighborhoods; LULAC 4861; LULAC District 12; East Austin Vote Campaign and Los Texas Wranglers in the "Get the Latino Vote Out" campaign to remind Latinos in Austin about the election and encourage them to vote.
Along with the event at Parque Zaragosa on Wednesday, the group is visiting homes in East Austin to pass out flyers and personally remind the community about the election.