Indiana Latino Institute provides voting information in Spanish

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Resources online help people navigate the election process, but most of them are only in English.

The Indiana Latino Institute is working to change that.

Voting is taking center stage across the country, and, in a presidential election year, the crowd tends to get bigger. Indiana recorded more than 4.85 million registered voters for the June primary, and about 175,000 of those voters are Latino. Although people need some understanding of the English language to become U.S. citizens, they might not understand everything they need to know about voting if Spanish as their primary language.

“There’s no better way to raise our voice then through our vote,” said Marlene Dotson, president and chief executive officer of the Indiana Latino Institute.

But this year, the Latino community may have a larger voice, specifically when it comes to picking leaders who’ll focus on on important issues including immigration, education, and health.

The Indiana Latino Institute has been using the internet, social media and fliers as main sources of distributing voting information translated into Spanish. Dotson said the Latino population is growing and contributing economically and culturally.

“So for us to have a voice to be able to express our voice, to use our voice, the only way to do this is participating in elections,” Dotson said. “It’s so important, that we share information with our constituents, with our Latino community so they can get this information.”

“So we bring so much to give to the community and we see especially our young generation they are just so energetic to participate.”

The organization will continue to partner with other organizations and churches to get material translated into Spanish where it’s needed.