SAN DIEGO (KGTV)— Among the thousands of San Diegans voting in this year’s election are new citizens voting for the first time.
Community organization Alliance San Diego has helped more than 100 people become eligible to vote in this election, including Juan Perez Panduro.
Panduro is originally from Jalisco, Mexico, and he said it took him a year to become a new citizen. Alliance San Diego also showed him the steps on how to vote.
Panduro became a U.S. citizen on April 23, 2024, and recently cast his first ballot at a voting center in Barrio Logan.
“I feel happy and content because I have the power to vote, and I like that very much,” Panduro said. “I think it’s important to participate in voting because it benefits all people.”
Panduro said it was easy for him to study the propositions and cast his ballot, given the fact that English is not his first language.
“I love the system to vote here because it’s very easy, it’s not that difficult, and I was able to understand it in Spanish because I don’t know English that well,” Panduro said.
Panduro said voting in the United States is very different from what he’s used to.
“Here it’s done cleanly,” Panduro said. “We know that there’s no corruption, and unfortunately, in Mexico, there is corruption. Votes are stolen sometimes, and here everything is by the book.”
Panduro said he took pride in voting for the first time because of issues he really cared about on the ballot.
“I saw all the propositions of all the members of the planning committee, and I saw several projects that could benefit me and my family,” Panduro said. “Help for the schools and help citizen’s benefits interested me a lot.”
Panduro said it would not have been possible for him to vote in this election without his cousin and Alliance San Diego. Panduro said Alliance San Diego helped with the costs of his naturalization.
ABC 10News reached out to Alliance San Diego about their efforts to support the cost of immigration applications.
Michelle Celleri, with ASD Legal Rights Counsel, said:
“The cost of applying for naturalization is a significant barrier to citizenship. We successfully removed that barrier for over 100 individuals who are now eligible to vote in this election. Our mission is to create a more inclusive democracy, which includes supporting community members like Juan, who have been residents of the United States and needed additional assistance to take that crucial final step in their journey.”
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Publish date : 2024-11-04 14:09:00
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