Local News in Brief : Mexicans’ Voting Rights

Mexican nationals living in California presented a Mexican congressman with a petition Monday urging the establishment of absentee ballots or another mechanism to allow them to vote in their country’s July 6 presidential election.

Members of a group representing the expatriates, Derecho al Voto en el Exterior, which means Right to Vote Abroad, contends that they have the right under Mexico’s constitution to vote as long as they have not renounced their citizenship.

Representatives of the group said at a Los Angeles news conference that their efforts to vote have been sidetracked by consular officials who say they have been awaiting instructions from Mexico.