Mexico Elections: Mexicans Finally Vote in Historic Election With Its Possible First Female President

Mexico votes in its historic and largest elections yet, with either Xochitl Galvez or Claudia Sheinbaum possibly being elected as the country's very first female president. The two candidates have lead in the previous pre-election polls, though Sheinbaum remains the favorite coming into the actual poll as she has a wide lead over her coalition rival.

One of them, Sheinbaum, is running to continue her predecessor and mentor's populist policies and is seen to be more or less the same as the government of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO), while the other, Galvez, pledges change and to fight the drug cartels head on.

There is also a third candidate who rounds out the top three favorites, Jorge Alvarez Maynez. He has focused his attention on the youth vote but has struggled in the polls against his two female opponents. While there are analysts who say this is a three-horse race, many believe Maynez Alvarez Maynez would not do as well as Galvez or Sheinbaum.

According to the Associated Press, there was a high voter turnout, with long lines of voters, even though much of the country was in the middle of a punishing heat wave. On top of their minds is security, as drug cartels have plunged the country into violence while many citizens remain poor. However, some factors, such as immigration and other social issues, are also on top of the agenda.

The election is seen to be the country's largest yet, with over 20,000 seats up for grabs, including the presidency. Voters are also choosing the governors for nine of the country's 32 states, as well as the lawmakers of the two chambers of their Congress. Various local seats, including mayoralty and city council seats, are also on the line.

However, while many eyes were focused on the battle for the presidency, the election has also been marred by violence as the drug cartels seek to disrupt the election by killing off candidates who they deem would be a roadblock to their illegal activities or are challenging politicians they want to win.

First-Time Voters Have Massive Influence in This Year's Mexico Elections

This year would also be the first time that many Mexicans are voting, and one independent political commentator, Paula Sofia Vasquez, told Al Jazeera News that there are a lot of these first-time voters this year, and they may be responsible if there are a lot of surprises or upsets this year.

The largest voting bloc in Mexico right now is people between 18 to 29 years old, with Vasquez pointing out that they could make a difference.

"The forecast for the turnout was 65 percent, and the electoral [authority] said it might get adjusted to almost 70 percent. So we are having a lot of turnout, a lot of first-time pollers," she told the outlet. "We will have surprises, I believe, in the result."

Mexico Violence Would Still Be an Issue After the Elections

Despite all the media attention over this year's Mexico elections, violence has spiked throughout, with many candidates already killed even before the voting began.

The violence spiked during the final day of campaigning as Ricardo Arizmendi Reynoso, a substitute opposition candidate running to be the mayor of the city of Cuautla, was shot to death on Tuesday. That same day, Encarnacion de Diaz mayoral candidate Gilberto Palomar was also shot. He survived but was hospitalized with serious injuries. Those were just two of the many other attacks that happened that day.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Mexico expected to elect its first female president - TODAY