Hispanic Voter Registration Drive Gears Up

You might not be thinking of the 2008 elections already, but Tulsa area Hispanic leaders are. They're starting a voting drive and as News on 6 reporter Steve Berg explains, they say it will be bigger

Thursday, August 17th 2006, 10:00 am

By: News On 6

You might not be thinking of the 2008 elections already, but Tulsa area Hispanic leaders are. They're starting a voting drive and as News on 6 reporter Steve Berg explains, they say it will be bigger than anything before.

It's just a small gathering at a Tulsa library. But longtime local activist Reverend Victor Orta says they're just getting started. "The election is 2008, and we feel like we need to begin now. It's a project that has not been done here of this magnitude."

One of the first volunteers is Chris Gentges. Her grandparents immigrated to Tulsa from Mexico. And she wants new immigrants to live the American dream too. "Because I think that it's important that the Hispanic community realizes that is one avenue that they can achieve the American dream is to learn the process, learn the voting process and how important each vote counts."

So they'll be calling on all Hispanic groups, business groups, church groups, asking everyone to pitch in. "And go to the Hispanic festivals. I will go to the apartments, the schools, the churches, y'know, whatever the Reverend, whatever it takes."

The emphasis will be on those citizens who don't speak English and might not understand the process to register. If they're not citizens, they'll get them started on the path to citizenship. Orta stresses they will never try to skirt the law and get undocumented citizens to the polls. "There's a climate, an anti-immigrant climate. And we want to present a positive tone to this thing."

Orta says it seems like the anti-immigrant sentiment is worse now that it was in 1975, when he moved to Tulsa. He thinks getting immigrants to vote getting them into the system will ultimately smooth out cultural differences. "As we register the adults, they will transfer their values to their children and just one generation to another."