Tuesday was the last day for early voting at the Perry satellite polls, and Democrats mobilized a large number of Hispanic voters in Perry for a march to the voting booths. The voters were energized by speeches but also by chicken tacos at the Casa de Oro restaurant in Perry.
Local organizers and party activists from as far away as Maryland and New Jersey have worked steadily in Perry for months, both in non-partisan voter registration efforts and in Hillary-centered partisan recruitment for Democrat candidates in Iowa.
Dr. Ligia Peralta came from Maryland to do Latino voter outreach in Storm Lake and Perry and has found Iowa’s Latinos “have a lot of energy, of course, and a willingness to speak up and vote,” she said.
Peralta was joined by Joseline Peña-Melnyk, a Maryland delegate and leader of the Latino, African American, Asian American and Native American voter outreach in Iowa for the Hillary Clinton campaign.
“We have reached out to Latino voters where they really are,” Peña-Melnyk said, “at the Goodwill and the Dollar Store and the Wal-mart but also at churches and fast food restaurants and parking lots and even in night clubs.”
Joe Enriquez Henry, Midwest vice-president of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), warmed up the crowd at the Casa de Oro with numbers showing the big jump in Latinos registered to vote and promises of a powerful political future for Latino Americans.
Another Hillary organizer, New Jersey native Tiffany Vaughn, was joined by a number of local organizers, such as Angelica Cardenas of Perry, Tim Snyder of Minburn and Ila Plasencia of West Des Moines, in sharing the festive atmosphere prior to the march to the satellite polls at the Perry Public safety building.
“This has been a very successful campaign,” Vaughn said. “Everyone is really feeling the spirit. Si se puede!”
The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 8.
