In Ohio, voters are preparing to cast their ballots in the historic upcoming presidential election – of Mexico.
Earlier this year, David Arredondo, of Lorain, mailed in his ballot for presidential, senate and gubernatorial candidates.
“It’s your right in Mexico to vote. It’s your right in the U.S. to vote. But also, in both of our countries, it’s our duty,” Arredondo said. “If we want the freedoms, and we want the kind of government that we have then we have to support it.”
Arredondo, who is also a U.S. citizen, became a citizen of Mexico in 1999.
He began participating in Mexican electoral politics this year after he realized how easy it is to register to vote and get a voting card, he said. Representatives from the Mexican Consulate travel around the United States to help people with several types of paperwork, including applying for citizenship or registering to vote.
“It is so remarkable that it is so efficient and so practical,“ said Arredondo, who attended graduate school in Mexico and whose father was born there. “I’m proud as a Mexican that my government does that — that it cares about its people.”
Millions of Mexican citizens living outside the country are eligible to vote in the June 2 election, when the country will for the first time likely elect a female president. That includes more than 12 million people living in the United States, estimates show.
Nearly 224,000 Mexicans living outside the country have registered to vote in this election, according to Mexico's National Electoral Institute. The Wilson Center, an American research center, estimates about 98,000 people living abroad voted in the 2018 presidential election, a large increase from the about 40,000 who voted in 2012.
The deadline to register to vote passed in February, but those with a valid registration card can vote by mail, in person at certain Mexico consulate locations or online.
Arredondo plans to visit Mexico City on June 2 to see how the election works inside the country. He signed up to be an election day observer.
