Latin Post presents "Turnout," a series that features leading politicians, government leaders and advocacy groups discussing and debating the most important issues facing the Latino voting bloc.

--
Voting is one of the most fundamental and important rights for U.S. citizens, says Pennsylvania Secretary of the State Pedro Cortés, and with the Keystone State launching its online voter registration program, he aims to boost the registration rate of all voters, including Latinos and millennials.

"There's almost nothing that we do in life that is not in some way, shape or form dictated or affected by the laws that our elected officials have put in place," said Cortés in an interview with Latin Post.

As secretary of state, the top responsibilities are to administer and monitor elections, examining and certifying of voting systems and verification of election results. His department also handles campaign finances, corporate filings and sanctioning athletic sports such as boxing, mixed martial arts and wrestling.

"It's a humbling experience ... to be able to say 'Wow, I am the secretary of state. I have the opportunity to influence people's lives in a positive way,'" said Cortés, later adding, "It's something that gives me a great sense of pride but not in the sense of being self-serving."

For someone that was raised in Puerto Rico with a single mother, attending pubic school, not originally speaking English and being the first in his family to attend college, Cortés said if he can make it this far then there is great hope for others in the Latino community to succeed.

"If we put our hearts and our minds to it, we can do anything. We're already doing that in our country, and it's wonderful that we have such an integral part of the fabric of what makes the United States a great nation," said Cortés.

Cortés, born and raised in Puerto Rico, was appointed by then-Republican Gov. Tom Ridge to serve as the senior advisor for Latino affairs in 2000. In 2003, then-Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell promoted him to secretary of state of Pennsylvania. Serving until 2010, Cortés' appointment made him the first Latino confirmed to a cabinet-level position in the state, and the first Latino secretary in any agency in Pennsylvania. By the time he left the role in 2010, Cortés also became the Pennsylvania's longest-serving secretary of state.

Returning to the secretary of state role in 2015 -- nominated by current Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and confirmed by the State Senate on June 2 -- Cortés noted he's pleased he is not the only Latino cabinet member, which now includes Pedro Rivera as secretary for the Department of Education.

For his undergrad, Cortés studied at the University of Massachusetts for hotel, restaurant and travel administration, but told Latin Post he has always been attracted to social and political issues.

"It was something I followed as an engaged citizen but not something I necessarily thought I would do to earn a living, however, it has become clear to me, over the years, that my passion always laid with serving others and serving the public," said Cortés.

To further engage Latinos, and other races, Pennsylvania launched its online voter registration program. Prior to the online program's launch, Cortés said the voter registration process was "labor intensive" in Pennsylvania, which included a physical paper process and involvement of multiple people holding the registration form.

"Often times, the challenges were that if you handed the application to someone else or put it in the mail, there were no guarantee that it made it to the county board on time," said Cortés, noting the application may have a voter's sensitive information, not just name and address, but social security data would be in the hands of multiple individuals.

Cortés acknowledged that most applications arrive near the election registration deadline, which may overwhelm county officials who would receive thousands of paper applications that may be hard to read due to a voter's illegible handwriting or improper responses to questionnaires.

According to Cortés, Pennsylvania's online voter registration program provides eligible voters the technology to apply in the privacy and comfort of their own home, either on the computer or mobile device.

"We're making the process not only more streamlined but much more secured, less costly and at the same time provide benefits to the registrant such as a tracking number that allows that person to know where that application is in the process," said Cortés.

The Pennsylvania secretary of state said the online voter registration method provided a rapid increase in registration. As of Sept. 9, more than 7,500 Pennsylvanians have utilized the online program since its Aug. 27 launch. The aforementioned figure, however, does not fully represent new registrants but also existing voters who are able to amend statuses such as address or political party affiliation.

"I have to say that I had high hopes and I'm an eternal optimist so I knew the reception was going to be good but these numbers are even better than I had expected, especially as we consider that this is a municipal election year in Pennsylvania," said Cortés, recognizing that voter registration interest usually occurs during presidential election cycles.

Cortés, however, said the online method was launched early to give the public, and county officials, the time to familiarize and learn about the process ahead of the 2016 elections. He noted the program has so far worked without any problems and has been accurate and efficient.

Racial statistics were not disclosed, but Cortés revealed his office discovered the age groups that have heavily utilized the online voter registration program. Cortés said a large number of users are millennials, specifically ages 18 to 24, who accounted for 3,069 applications. Registrants, ages 65 and older, have also used the program, although at significantly lower numbers than millennials.

Although statistics of Latino registrants was not provided, Cortés was confident that the state's 500,000 eligible Latino voters will make a positive registration impact.

"The reason why I think that's particularly encouraging for Latinos is because Latinos own smartphones, they use online and mobile devices and use social networks at rates that are sometimes higher than other groups in the country," said Cortés. "We're very attuned to technology and social media, and I'm anticipating that the use of online voter registration will have a particularly positive impact on our Latino community."

"As a [Latino] community, we're growing in numbers but we're also growing in political power but that power will not be harnessed to its fullest until we come out to vote and do so in mass because regrettably I've had conversations with elected officials, with politicians who have told me 'Well, your community is not engaged,'" said Cortés, later adding, "The good thing is that is changing, but it will not change as much, we will not see the full benefits of our numbers as Latinos in this country until every eligible Latino registers and also comes out and vote on Election Day."

But the Latino electorate may not be the only factor in providing a voice for the community; Cortés said Latinos need to run for public office so that the views and concerns of Latinos are at the table when it counts.

Cortés hopes more states adopt online voter registration. He also recognized other Latino secretaries of state, such as Alex Padilla of California, Cesar Perales of New York, Nellie Gorbea of Rhode Island, Carlos Cascos of Texas and David Enrique Bernier Rivera of Puerto Rico, who are helping build the Latino political presence.

__

For the latest updates, follow Latin Post's Politics Editor Michael Oleaga on Twitter: @EditorMikeO or contact via email: m.oleaga@latinpost.com.

Related