In an effort to raise awareness of civic involvement and expand Hispanic voter registration, Telemundo-owned stations are planning to hold local voter registration drives nationwide. Hosted by the stations in 15 markets and partnered with local nonprofits, the drives are part of #YODECIDO, Telemundo’s multiplatform push to educate, empower and engage Hispanic voters.
Despite over 28 million Hispanics eligible to vote—13% of all eligible U.S. voters—the group is nonetheless underrepresented in most national elections and has lower turnout than most minority groups. The registration drive is linked with the Citizenship App — Examen De La Ciudadania — which Telemundo Station Group launched in 2014 to help users study for the citizenship exam. The app is available on iTunes and Android.
“All of our stations are deeply-rooted in the communities they serve and this hyper-local effort, which combines best-in-class national and local election coverage with community-driven voter registration drives, will help all of our communities get the information they need so they can be active participants in this year’s elections,” said Manuel Martinez, Telemundo Station Group president. “Our local voter registration drives coupled with our newly launched Citizenship App — Examen De La Ciudadania — which helps viewers study for their U.S. citizenship exam, are important tools that our communities can use to empower themselves so they can make the important decisions they need to open doors of opportunities for themselves and their families.”
KVEA, Telemundo’s West Coast flagship local station in Los Angeles, will hold the first voter registration drive on Jan. 31 as part of the station’s 12th annual Prevenir es Vivir (to Prevent is to Live) health and wellness fair at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Telemundo will announce the drives for the other markets at a later date. Those are in New York (WNJU), Miami-Fort Lauderdale (WSCV), Houston (KTMD), Dallas-Fort Worth (KXTX), Chicago (WSNS), San Francisco-Bay Area (KSTS), San Antonio (KVDA), Phoenix (KTAZ), Harlingen, Texas (KTLM), Denver (KDEN), Philadelphia (WWSI), Boston (WNEU), Las Vegas (KBLR) and Tucson (KHRR).
Viewers can also watch Ximena Duque, star of Telemundo’s Dueños del Paraiso and Corazón Valiente, register to vote live Friday starting at 7 a.m. on Un Nuevo Dia.
“We are very excited that Ximena is sharing this important milestone in her life with our viewers to help raise awareness about the importance of becoming an active participant in this year’s elections,” said Raquel “Rocky” Egusquiza, VP of community affairs, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises. “We encourage all of our communities – particularly those in California, Florida, Texas, Illinois, Nevada and Colorado, which have more than 6 million eligible unregistered voters – to participate in their local Telemundo station #YODECIDO voter registration drive events so they can be fully engaged and help elect the leaders that will represent them, including the next President of the United States.”
