It has been eight hard months of work for the local organization Promise Arizona (PAZ). On Oct. 9, the organization turned in more than 1,600 voter registrations to the Yuma County Recorder. PAZ, made up of mostly high school and college students, had been knocking on doors in San Luis, Somerton, Yuma, the Foothills and Wellton, encouraging people to register to vote.

More than half of the registries consist of young people who have just turned 18. Organizers took advantage of local events and activities to inform and convince the community to participate in the upcoming elections.

"We realized that not a lot of people were aware that they even needed to register," said group organizer Lizbeth Vasquez, 19. "They thought they would automatically be able to vote once they turned 18."

The state organization was born from controversial policies like law SB1070. PAZ aims to promote youth leadership and empower the Hispanic community, as well as encouraging residents to become citizens and vote.

Some of the organizers entered the group because they needed to fill their community hours for scholarship purposes but stayed due to the attractiveness of the cause. Even though some of them are not old enough to vote, the organizers understand the importance of voting.

"We have been working hard to change people's mentality in thinking that their vote doesn't matter," added Vasquez.

Organizers learned that people who gained awareness of how politics affect their daily lives tend to participate in the voting process as well as in other community activities. Being able to decide who gets into public positions and which proposals become laws is something that

Now that the voter registration deadline has passed, the group will focus on getting those people who registered to go vote. To that end, PAZ will be conducting activities in efforts to promote voting. After the elections, the organization also plans to endorse community projects like providing free Wi-Fi in local parks.

For those who don't know, the elections will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 6, at which time voters will elect officials, from local and state candidates all the way up to the next president of the United States.

Photo by Nasheli Castro