FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — Voting rights advocates are out Tuesday helping people get the information they need before going to the polls.

Latino organizers and volunteers with Democracy North Carolina, a nonpartisan organization, are outside polling stations throughout the state to assist Hispanic voters with any voting issues that may come up.

What You Need To Know

  • Volunteers with Democracy North Carolina are stationed outside polling sites across the state to assist Hispanic voters  

  • The nonprofit organization has a statewide voter assistance hotline but is also on the ground to help with issues such as voters being at the wrong polling location, voter intimidation and language access

  • Manuel Mejia Diaz with Democracy NC wants Latinos, especially those living in rural areas, to feel empowered at the ballot box

Democracy NC spent months preparing for the primary elections, according to Manuel Mejia Diaz, the group’s southeastern regional organizer. Mejia Diaz and other volunteers are carrying clipboards with forms such as the dos and don’ts, a voting site checklist and an incident report to be filled out if voting laws aren’t being followed.

“We don’t want any incidents at polling sites, but if anything is happening we want to make sure it’s properly documented with sufficient information,” Mejia Diaz said. “So if we can take action, we can actually do it very efficiently.”

Democracy NC says it had around 13,000 calls to its statewide voter assistance hotline during the 2020 primaries and general election. Mejia Diaz believes vote protector volunteers are the last line of defense for Hispanic voters.

“They may have practical questions, something may happen, they may not be given a provisional ballot, they may be at the wrong location,” Mejia Diaz said. “Something may happen that may impede them to vote, and we see that in every election cycle — they go to vote, something happens, they’re turned away.”

A vote protector is there to help them with issues such as voter intimidation and language access when it comes to Spanish speakers being able to understand the voting process. The day before Primary Election Day, Mejia Diaz placed signs with the hotline number outside polling locations in Cumberland County, targeting areas where vote protectors may not be on-site.

“A lot of individuals from the rural part of Cumberland County have told me, ‘Hey, no one comes out here to electioneer, no one comes out here to do vote protector.’ And as someone who grew up in a rural part of the state, I want to make sure I’m touching the rural parts of the state,” Mejia Diaz said. “Because in rural communities you have a lot of diversity, especially a lot of Latino individuals.”

Mejia Diaz is an immigrant, born in El Salvador, but has been living in North Carolina for 15 years. He wants to connect with immigrant communities and empower Latinos through the ballot box.

“I’m proud to be an American, I am proud to be here. And one of my proudest achievements is that I’m able to be civically engaged all the time. Because I believe in democracy. I believe in the power of the people. So if we want to be part of policy, if we want to be the center of policy, we actually have to go out to vote and show our power in numbers. That is the only way the Latino community is going to be taken seriously, at the state level and most importantly in my opinion at the local level,” he said.

Democracy NC’s election protection program is a statewide grassroots initiative with partners such as churches, Latino nonprofit organizations and everyday North Carolinians who want to get involved.

Mejia Diaz is roaming around Cumberland County checking in on his volunteers at the polls and working to protect the vote.