Community leaders advocate for the power of the vote

A gathering of community leaders and elected officials hosted an event at the Longmont Youth Center on Tuesday to celebrate National Voter Registration Day.

“This is where we start the work to ensure that our communities participate in one other way,” said Boulder County Commissioner Marta Loachamin. “It’s not the only way to be civically engaged or participate but getting us from here to the voting booth is one way we can share our voice with the community.”

Loachamin spoke at the gathering as a representative of the National Association of Latino Elected Officials, or NALEO. Loachamin said as both a parent and a teacher she felt she didn’t have a voice to effect change or policy in her community, but as an elected official it was her responsibility to use her voice to represent those who didn’t have one.

“Voting is one mechanism to use your voice. The reality is we have over 11 million people that don’t have that right yet,” Loachamin said, referring to the number of undocumented immigrants that don’t currently have a clear path to U.S. citizenship.

Loachamin emphasized the importance of voting in local elections to enact change and educating youth on policies that affect them from curriculum in schools, student debt and even what can be served in cafeterias.

Joining Loachamin at the podium were Dr. Perla Delgado, CEO of the I Have A Dream Foundation of Boulder County, Longmont City Council candidate and Boulder County YWCA Director of Community Engagement Shiquita Yarbrough, members of the Boulder County Clerk & Recorder office and local youth activists to speak on the importance of voting in local elections, civic engagement and youth outreach.

“It’s important that we teach our youth that we lift our voices through the ballot,” Yarbrough said in her speech.

Alejandra Sosa, a 23-year-old Firestone resident, was joined by 14-year-old Samuel Gomez to impress on the crowd the duty and responsibility of voting for change when others cannot. Sosa spoke of her need to represent family, friends and community members who are undocumented and don’t have the ability or right to vote. 

Both Sosa and Gomez addressed the need to engage youth through social media and inspire them to participate in their civic duty, saying that though youth voters made up half the eligible voting populace, older voters were more likely to show up to the polls. Gomez highlighted the impact of a vote and the power of youth voices to enact social change, mentioning recent movements like Black Lives Matter, the Dreamers movement and #metoo.

Sosa said growing up as a first-generation American has always given her a sense of duty and responsibility for being engaged with a community, to represent people that didn’t have a voice. Encouraging youth to learn about policies outside of their immediate bubble and showing young voters how national policies can trickle down to affect their daily lives is the key to youth engagement, Sosa said.

“Once you make them aware, I think it sets in and makes it more real for them,” Sosa said.

The speakers and attendees engaged onlookers watching youth sports and playing disc golf in neighboring Clark Centennial Park, both from the podium and face-to-face with clipboards in hand. Though most park-goers said they were already registered to vote in Colorado, a handful of new voters were signed up as they passed by.

Sophie Bergland, a recent Longmont resident, took the opportunity to register during the evening event. Bergland said registering to vote took almost no time, calling it her responsibility to the community she lives in. Bergland also expressed frustration with people that complain about policies and elected officials but don’t vote in elections.

“If you aren’t voting in all the elections, small and large, then there’s nothing to complain about. You have this amazing opportunity to speak your voice through this process, so take it,” Bergland said.