Voceros por el Voto is intended to lay the groundwork for organizing to restore access to driver licenses regardless of immigration status or income in next legislative session
Milwaukee, WI — On Thursday, Voces de la Frontera Action held a press conference to announce the launch of
Voceros por el Voto, a historic effort to mobilize the most Latinx voters in any election in Wisconsin’s history and elect pro-immigrant, pro-worker candidates up and down the ballot.
The Voceros por el Voto program is tied to a statewide effort to call on candidates to support immigrant rights and champion state legislation to restore access to driver licenses for Wisconsin residents regardless of immigration status or income. In place of traditional canvassing, Voceros por el Voto participants recruit their friends, family, and coworkers to commit to vote on November 6th, and use a mobilie app to track their progress.
Click here for video of today’s press conference.
“One of our main focuses is electing candidates who will restore access to driver licenses for immigrants,” said Juan Herrera, a Voceros por el Voto regional organizer in Milwaukee. “I am the son of an immigrant and single mom. Until recently she worked in Waukesha, where 287g has been implemented. Every morning she had to drive there and risk getting stopped for driving without a license and detained by ICE. Every morning I was scared I would come back home and my mom wouldn’t be there. That’s why we’re fighting to restore access to driver licenses for immigrants.”
Endorsed candidates to date include Tony Evers for Governor; Mandela Barnes for Lieutenant Governor; Randy Bryce for Congress; Gabriel Gomez, Marisabel Cabrera, and JoCasta Zamarripa for State Assembly; and Earnell Lucas for Milwaukee County Sheriff. Voceros por el Voto will mobilize in each of the 10 cities where Voces de la Frontera Action has chapters statewide.
“I have taught high school students for the past 15 years,” said Berta Barillas, the Statewide Director of Voceros por el Voto. “I was a teacher-advisor for Voces’ student arm, Youth Empowered in the Struggle. I have seen firsthand the pain caused by the Walker Administration. Working with diverse students from all over the world as shown me the importance of advocating for the immigrant community and those not eligible to vote. That’s why I have taken the role of statewide director for the Voceros por el Voto campaign. Visit vocerosporelvoto.org or call 414-643-1620 to volunteer.”
“Voceros por el Voto marks a historic step forward in our efforts to mobilize more Latinx voters,” said Freya Neumann, a Milwaukee regional organizer with Voceros por el Voto. “We are organizing across the state to elect candidates who will make restoring access to driver’s licenses a priority in 2019, and who will stand up to Trump’s attacks on immigrant families. People are being stopped for driving without a license, separated from their families and deported. Governor Walker and the Republicans in the state legislature are letting this happen. That’s why Voceros por el Voto will mobilize tens of thousands of Latinx voters to make Tony Evers are next Governor, and elect pro-immigrant candidates to the state legislature across Wisconsin.”
