Early Returns In on Mexican Expat Vote Plan
Catherine Bremer of Reuters reports on the new Mexican expatriate voting plan:
A drive to get millions of Mexican immigrants in the United States to vote in the 2006 presidential election has fallen flat so far, with just 2,213 registered to vote, electoral officials said on Thursday.
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Mexico’s electoral watchdog, IFE, says it hopes to see more registrations in December as it starts distributing application forms at Mexican sporting events and rock concerts in the United States or via U.S. companies employing Mexicans.
Stands will also be set up along the border to catch some 1.5 million Mexicans expected to head home for Christmas, and officials will remind them to fetch their voting cards.
Not only are the barriers to registering high, but candidates are not allowed to do any campaigning in the U.S. To me, the main question is whether these rules will be changed in time for the 2006 election. Or will the expat experiment have to flop first before the Mexican government loosens up?
