With five days left to vote, some San Ysidro medical professionals are going door-to-door urging people in the South Bay to cast their ballots.
The campaign is called ‘My Vote, My Health’, spearheaded by AltaMed Health in Los Angeles. Twelve doctors and medical students from San Ysidro Health are using their platforms to help get people’s votes counted by Nov. 3.
“I take it very seriously. I went into healthcare to be a trusted source,” said Adan Garcia-Mecinas, a second-year medical student working with the ‘My Vote, My Health’ campaign. He said he’s knocked on 40 doors, so far. “One thing we’re not allowed to do is endorse a certain candidate. What we are doing is just encouraging them to vote and if they decide to vote in-person we’re encouraging them to wear a face mask, stay six-feet apart.”
The state-wide campaign is targeting communities in Northern California, Los Angeles County, Orange County, and San Diego County.
In San Diego County campaign workers are specifically targeting San Ysidro, Chula Vista, and National.
“What we see is the target population are the low propensity voters that haven’t voted in the past five election cycles, so it’s a crucial time for them to think about what policies and candidates can reflect and serve their needs,” said Garcia-Mecinas
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Jovita Arellano, a community activist in the South Bay, said she’s encouraged to see doctors and medical students reaching out to voters.
“I think it’s really important that the doctors are going out there (in the community) door-to-door,” said Arellano. “We’re in such a crisis right now. I want to know how coronavirus is going to be tackled with whoever is elected.”
It’s personal for Arellano. She lost her father-in-law to COVID-19 in July and is looking at the election for local and national relief.
“I want the voters to be able to say, ‘I’m voting for you because I believe in you. I believe in what you’re going to do for my community. I believe in what you’re going to do for this world,'” Arellano said.
Garcia-Mecinas said the campaign workers have reached 4,000 homes in the South Bay over the past eight weeks.
