Hispanic Voters are advised to be wary of letter

Mailed notice told Spanish-speakers that they can't vote

THELMA GUERRERO
Statesman Journal

http://tinyurl.com/ydjt5d

November 5, 2006

A message sent to immigrants-turned-citizens in California that falsely claims it's a crime for them to vote has raised concerns close to home.

The Oregon AFL-CIO is urging voters in the state to report any attempts to interfere with their right to vote.

"A healthy democracy depends on every citizen's vote being counted," said Tom Chamberlain, the president of the Oregon AFL-CIO.

The labor federation's concerns stem from a letter, written in Spanish, sent to Spanish-surnamed naturalized U.S. citizens born in Latin American countries who are registered voters in Orange County, Calif.

The letter purportedly warned people that only U.S. citizens can vote, that voting by immigrants is a crime and a deportable offense, and that immigration-restriction organizations have access to federal databases of properly registered voters.

A California state investigation into who sent the letter has focused on a Republican congressional candidate who was running on an anti-illegal-immigration platform.

"Rich, poor, all races, all ages, all ideologies -- and those who were born elsewhere and did the work to become citizens -- each of us deserves to exercise our sacred right to vote," Chamberlain said.

To warn Spanish-surnamed voters in Oregon of what they say is increasing interference with the voting process nationwide, the coalition of labor unions placed bilingual ads in several Oregon newspapers.

The advertisement features an U.S. flag and a photo of three U.S.-born Latino children.

It includes tips about how voters can protect their vote and a phone number (1-866-OUR-VOTE) to report harassing and/or intimidating activities. I-866-VEY-VOTA is providing a similar service in Spanish - organized by NALEO.

tguerrero@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6815