YAKIMA, Wash. – The newly redrawn District 14 aims to provide a stronger voice for Hispanic and Latino communities, stretching from Glenwood and the Lower Valley to parts of Pasco. However, local advocacy groups and voters believe there is still work to be done.
On the day of the general election last week, Yakima voters faced long lines at the county courthouse. Cristina Gonzalez, Director of Community Mobilization with the Latino Community Fund, said voters had issues with ballots.
“What we did see was there was a lot of Latino voters in that line. When I talked to a lot of them, let’s say out of ten families that I may have spoken to, about 4 to 5 of them said we received a ballot and primaries. We didn’t receive a general ballot, or they said we haven’t moved, we haven’t made any changes and received ballots last year and we didn’t receive a ballot at all this election,” said Gonzalez.
Despite a polarizing presidential race, District 14 voter Noemi Sanchez said there was a strong drive within her community to participate in local and state elections.
“One, Yes, we had similar numbers of voter turnout. But I think the difference was specifically through the 14th District is, yes, people are worried about the presidential election, but I think in the 14th district, people were super empowered and were more concerned with local elections because we had a Latino woman on the ballot,” Sanchez said.
Sanchez said that some community members were unaware of the redistricting due to a lack of political engagement throughout the year. She emphasized the importance of regular community events to keep residents informed.
“It feels like events happen, like when something big is going on. So, like this, this holiday or this election event was like a hot button issue that’s happening. But there needs to be consistency and like continue building community. Like don’t just bring people in when something happens, but you want to keep the new people in year-round, so you stay connected,” Sanchez stated.
