Yesterday was National Voter Registration Day, and the Dona Ana County Clerk’s Office is making sure everyone who is able to is registered to vote. So far, over 1,100 voters in Dona Ana County have registered through the new online voter registration portal.
For National Voter Registration Day, the Clerks Office is reaching out the youngest voters in the county at local high schools.
The Clerk’s office has registered over 1,000 voters through various outreach programs, registering more than 400 at local high schools. Andrew Montoya, an Enlace teacher at Centennial High School, helped to organize a voter registration drive for National Voter Registration Day. He says registering students is an important teachable moment.
“The Class I teach stands for Engaging Latino Communities for Education,” Montoya said. “Any chance the underrepresented youth of our community gets to use their voice, I want my students there, so in this case students voice is their ability to vote, so why not use that as a teachable moment and encourage them to not only register, but to also vote in the future.”
Students registering at Centennial said it was important to make their voice heard.
“I thought it would be a good idea since I’m old enough,” Cristobal Andres Jones said. “And since I believe New Mexico is one of the few places where you can vote if your going to turn 18 before the election, so I might as well participate and be an active person in my government.”
“I think it’s very important to register to vote.” Angel Roacha said. “Especially as a student, you know some people say it’s not important but it is important, and it makes a difference actually.”
“I decided to register to voter because I think it’s a good experience,” Roman Garcia said. “And a good opportunity, I won’t get another chance for another 4 years, so we’ll see how it goes.”
Andrew Montoya says hopefully by teaching the importance of voting in schools, students will continue to vote for years to come.
“Because I believe in what this country stands in and was founded on,” Montoya said. “I believe in democracy 100 percent, I actually teach principles of Democracy here at Centennial High School as well. And one of the things that I firmly believe is if we fail to use our voice, we’ll fail to represent what this country stands for.”
Montoya says he hopes students can start learning about the importance of voting as early as elementary school.
The final day to register to vote is October 11th. For more information on how to register to vote visit KRWG.org
