HRC | Ya Es Hora

Ya Es Hora

Historically, Latino/a voters face two primary barriers to full political participation: lack of meaningful engagement and access to the electoral process.

Ya es hora is the largest and most inclusive effort to incorporate Latino/a immgrants into the American political process. This multi-layered campaign provides a comprehensive approach linking naturalization to voter participation and Census enumeration under a single message: “it’s time.”

About 8 million immigrants in the U.S. are eligible for naturalization, yet only a small percentage of these people seek citizenship. More than half the immigrants who are eligible for nauralization come from Latin America, according to the Pew Hispanic Center.

There is a strong need to reach out to hard-to-count communities such as the immigrant, Latino/a, and LGBT communities in order to ensure a full Census count in the 2010 Census.

To broaden support for LGBT equality in communities of color, the Human Rights Campaign is a member of ya es hora, a coalition of faith, labor, media, and community-based organizations aimed at organizing civic engagement campaigns with the Latino/a immigrant communities so that they can become active participants in U.S. democracy.

To provide immigrants with resources to apply for citizenship, the ya es hora coalition organizes nationwide citizenship workshops as part of a campaign called ¡Ciudadania! (Citizenship!). To educate and reach hard-to-count communities about the 2010 Census, the ya es hora coalition organized a nationwide Census enumeration campaign called ¡Hagase Contar! (Make Yourself Count!), combining elements including elements a bilingual information and assistance hotline; a coordinated media campaign; a comprehensive webpage; and a network of community-based organizations with the capacity to provide Census information and serve as Census form assistance centers.

The Human Rights Campaign is playing a critical role in recruiting volunteers for and promoting these campaigns, providing an opportunity for different communities to work together and for the LGBT community to support its Latino/a members and allies. For example, with the help of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Education Fund (NALEO), HRC served as the lead organization in San Diego, convening a coalition table, coordinating the planning and preparations and helping recruit volunteers.

Mi Familia Vota, NALEO, the National Council of La Raza, the Service Employees International Union, and the media network Univision are some of the national groups involved, providing support to the tremendous local community-based organizations that are organizing their communities under the umbrella of ya es hora. For more information, please visit www.yaeshora.info.