Baja California voters will go to the polls today in order to vote for new members of the state Assembly
and mayors.
According to the Federal Voter Registration 2.5 million voters are registered to vote in 4,462 polling
sites during the midterm elections.
For the very first time in state’s history independent candidates ran for legislative and mayoral office.
Due to recent legislation, some candidate registrations were denied by the state Electoral Institute’s
General Council, but were overturned by Election Courts.
As has been for the last two decades voters will arrive at polling places with their election identification
card to receive paper ballots that are filed with a special crayon. After voting, citizens get their cards back
and their thumbs are marked with indelible ink to refrain them from voting once more.
Vote by mail is not allowed neither in this state nor nationwide except for Mexicans abroad during
presidential and few state elections.
In Mexicali 740,642 registered voters would be able to take part of the election of a new mayor, 15
members of the city council and six of the 25-member state Assembly.
Only five of the 10 candidates running have a chance to succeed Mayor Jaime Díaz Ochoa. They are
Gustavo Sánchez from the National Action Party (PAN in Spanish), Antonio Magaña with a coalition led
by the Institutional Revolutionary Party (or PRI in Spanish), Elvira Luna with the Baja California Party,
Alcibíades García Lizardi with the Citizen’s Movement and José Juan Contreras with the Social
Encounter Party.
Three years ago, the PAN won five out of the six legislative districts in Mexicali, with Carmen Frías
winning only on District VI in rural Mexicali for the PRI. The assemblywoman died last year and was
succeeded by alternate candidate Cynthia Ruiz.
Authorities have said the real enemy during this election is voter abstention as the state has been in
the last places nationwide in voter turnout for the last two decades.
Authorities have 6,500 policemen and military personnel to handle safety in election day.
State disburses funds to schools
Days before the end of school year, the state government announced the disbursement of the very first
payment of funds from a special program of 2016.
The State’s Education System said 70 million pesos or $ 4.1 million to all schools that complied with
the appropriate documents to demonstrate expenses of last year.
The state said a series of changes are to be implemented in the trust and new strategies will be
launched to spend the funds in a more effective way.
The Beca Progreso program opened few years ago to compensate the lack of funds that in the past
were received by schools from educational fees paid for by parents.
The state said funds will increase for infrastructure beginning the implementation of the new strategies.
