BAKERSFIELD, Calif.(KBAK/KBFX) — With Election Day a day away, a Kern County nonprofit has been making a final push to help voters who feel overwhelmed by what’s on the ballot — especially those in underserved communities.
Building Healthy Communities Kern County has spent months going into neighborhoods to help residents better understand what they’re voting for and how those decisions could affect them. The effort grew after the group heard from residents who were unsure what a yes or no vote on a proposition would actually mean.
Reina Olaguez, one of the organization’s founders, said the number of measures can be daunting. “Of course there’s 14 propositions in the in the ballet it’s going to be intimidating for families and so when we sit down we go over the ballot the the propositions they make their they know what they want they know what they don’t want,” Olaguez said.
To help break down the measures, Olaguez helped create simple, one-page handouts in both English and Spanish explaining the propositions and what each vote could mean.
“It was inspired by a meeting that we had a convening that we held last year with CalMatters,” Olaguez said. “We printed a little one-sheeters and we bring them with us. We explain to them one by one and then they decide.”
Olaguez said the goal is not to tell people how to vote, but to make sure they have the information they need to make their own decisions. She said the outreach has drawn people from different age groups and backgrounds, with many motivated by economic concerns.
“People are hurting economically and so they wanted to learn about the propositions and how they were going to impact them and so that’s why it was I think we got good turnout at every single event young people older women everyone would come,” Olaguez said.
The organization has attended community events and met residents across Kern County, including in Bakersfield, Arvin and McFarland.
On Monday, Building Healthy Communities Kern County was at California State University, Bakersfield’s first annual Día de los Muertos Community Ofrenda event to answer last-minute voting questions. The event brought together several community organizations to share their work with students. Assistant Professor of Ethic Studies at CSUB, Nora Cisneros, said students also highlighted Latino civil rights leaders and others from marginalized communities.
“Some students also decided to honor the immigrants whose lives have been lost in detention facilities,” Cisneros said.
Olaguez said it has been rewarding to see people who may have never voted before begin to understand they have a voice in decisions that affect their lives. She pointed to access to preventive care, health resources and local policies as issues that resonate locally.
“Let’s get involved. What’s happening? But also try to pitch changes because, you know, where change starts with us,” Olaguez said.