Nov 4, 2008
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
Miami, FL – Democracia U.S.A., (D-USA) a national non-partisan Hispanic voter registration and civic engagement organization, will have its senior executives and State field directors available to give interviews on the Latino electorate in the battleground states of Nevada, Florida, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Colorado and Arizona on Monday, November 3rd and Tuesday, November 4th. Founded in 2004, D-USA has been actively engaged over the past year in successful voter registration and Get-Out-the-Vote (GOTV) efforts in the Hispanic communities throughout these states. It’s final voter registration and civic engagement figures for 2008, show an average 7.6 percent increase in voter registration in the seven states where it operates, totaling a one percent increase in the entire Hispanic Electorate. D-USA’s Get-Out-The-Vote (GOTV) and Election Protection efforts are in full swing as the organization works to drive 80 percent of its registered Latino voters to the polls.
What: Media Availability of Democracia U.S.A. Senior and State Field Staff
Why: With the projected 9.2 million Hispanics registered voters, the Latino electorate is slated to play a decisive “swing vote” in this historic presidential election. D-USA’s staffers that have spent the past year working on grassroots community level developing and managing ground voter registration operations, Get-Out-The-Vote (GOTV) and Election Protection efforts in key states across the country. They will be available for expert commentary on How, When or Why the Latino vote is slated to make a significant difference in this unprecedented election. Furthermore, these experts will be able to share the numerous research studies and polls that Democracia U.S.A. has conducted over the past year on the U.S. Hispanic electorate.
When: Monday, November 3rd and Tuesday, November 4th, 2008
Who: D-USA’s Experts on Hispanic/Latino Electorate: Jorge Mursuli, President and C.E.O. (Cuban)* Rafael Collazo, National Deputy Director (Puerto Rican)* Luis Cerros, National Field Director (Honduran)* Janice Paulino, Latino Young Voter Director (Dominican)* Marco Rauda, Nevada Coordinator (Salvadoran)* Roberto Cancel, Central Florida Coordinator (Puerto Rican)* Sandra Urquiza, South Florida Coordinator (Peruvian)* Miguel Concepción, Pennsylvania Coordinator (Puerto Rican)* Alonso Morado, Arizona Coordinator (Mexican American/Chicano)* Isaac Medrano, Colorado Coordinator (Nicaraguan)* Maria Falu, New Jersey Coordinator (Puerto Rican)*
*Latino Diversity: Democracia U.S.A. is proud of its rich, cultural diversity reflected at all levels of staff, lending itself to the unique understanding and bond with the broad range of the Latino community it serves. Ranging from Cuba, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Central and South America, these ethnic roots are the key reason for D-USA’s successful community outreach efforts because of the shared cultural and linguistic dynamics understood and reflected in the communities it serves.
Visuals: Door-to-Door Canvassing: On Election Day, Tuesday, November 4th, D-USA will flood communities with its canvassers to conduct final door-to-door Get-Out-The-Vote (GOTV) and Election Protection messages to Latino communities in key battleground states such as Las Vegas, Nevada; Philadelphia and Reading, Pennsylvania; Pennsauken, New Jersey; Orlando and Miami, Florida; Pueblo, Colorado; and Tuscon, Arizona.
Election Protection at Polls: D-USA will also dispatch poll observers to monitor polling sites where D-USA’s newly registered Latino voters are expected to turn out in high numbers. Election Protection cities include: Miami and Orlando, Florida; Las Vegas, Nevada; Pueblo, Colorado; Tuscon, Arizona; Philadelphia and Reading, Pennsylvania; and, Pennsauken, New Jersey.
*Vans containing eight canvassers each will leave D-USA state offices to knock door-to-door, distributing Get-Out-The-Vote and Election Protection literature for civic engagement of newly registered Latino voters. D-USA canvassers will be clearly identified with D-USA t-shirts and ID, bilingual, and representative of the community served.
Democracia U.S.A. (D-USA) is a national, non-partisan Hispanic/Latino civic engagement, voter empowerment, community organizing, and leadership development organization founded in 2004. D-USA is actively engaged in non-partisan civic engagement, voter registration, and GOTV (Get-Out-The-Vote) efforts throughout Florida, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada, Texas, Colorado, and New Jersey. In 2006, the Associated Press (AP) credited D-USA as having generated 70 percent of all new non-partisan voter registrations in the Hispanic community. D-USA is also an affiliate member of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national Latino civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States. www.democraciausa.org
