JOIN #enAlaskasisevota
This is call to action to every registered voter in Alaska and until Nov. 2, Enlaces will accept photos of people holding signs explaining why they vote with the hashtag #enAKsisevota, #AlaskaVota or #enAKvotamos. Enlaces is posting the submissions to @alaskavota on Instagram and on its Facebook page.
The signs say “La razón por la que voto es,” (The reason I am voting is) and participants can fill in a blank section with their personal reasoning. “I feel like it’s super important to vote this year,” said Joan Ryan, who is involved with the campaign and is part of Enlaces board of directors. Daniel Esparza, a past member, said he thinks these upcoming elections are the most important in his lifetime. “I understand that the Latinx vote is a sleeping giant, and to wake it up is very difficult,” he said. “But I think that if the Latinx vote comes out in full-force, it can be decisive in bettering our living conditions.” Lina Mariscal, member of the Enlaces board, and editor of Sol de Medianoche, said that it has been a challenge motivating younger people to participate and vote. But she said she thinks voting is an important way to show Alaska’s Latinx community is united. She said she was struck by something Ethan Berkowitz, the now-mayor of Anchorage, said to her a few years back when they first spoke. “When I met him, he said to me, ‘You have to make sure that your community not only is registered to vote, but that it actually gets out to vote. Because in voting there is power.’” As of Oct. 8, 83 people have submitted photos with their signs. Businesses around Anchorage have also posted signs in their windows. You can submit your photo by posting it on social media with hashtags and tagging Enlaces. #enAKsisevota, #AlaskaVota or #enAKvotamos |