Arizona Latinos Honor MLK Legacy Through Voter Registration

On Monday, as the nation observed Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Latino leaders in Arizona reflected on the civil rights leader's legacy and sought to promote the message that voting is a civil rights issue, NBC News reported.

"Every citizen in the United States gets to participate in some way in the voting process, and when you've got laws that oppress voters, that make it hard for people to vote or that make it confusing for people to vote, that is a violation of their civil rights," said Petra Falcon, executive director of non-profit organization Promise Arizona.

Falcon's group is part of One Arizona, a coalition of nonprofit groups working to increase voter participation primarily among Latinos.

Arizona has the nation's fifth largest Hispanic statewide eligible voter population, there are about 902,000 Latinos living in Arizona who are eligible to vote, according to the Pew Research Center.

"Today we're marking Martin Luther King Jr. Day through our movement and making sure Latinos and other minorities are engaged in the decision making process," said Raquel Teran, the Arizona director for Mi Familia Vota. "That's the best way that we feel we can honor him."

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