Meet the Let America Vote Team: Sylvia Ruiz Talks Hispanic Heritage Month, Voting Rights and Where She’s Most Excited to Knock on Doors in 2018
Let America Vote is a team of staff members dedicated to protecting voting rights. Each member brings their unique background and skill set to help lead the grassroots fight against voter suppression. As Hispanic Heritage Month comes to a close, we want to introduce you to Sylvia Ruiz, Let America Vote’s Political Director, whose upbringing in California as an immigrant from Guatemala shaped her views on the right to vote.
1. Where are you from?
I was born in Guatemala and immigrated to the United States when I was four after an earthquake devastated my homeland. I grew up in Northern California and consider it my home. I became a United States Citizen in my 20’s and like many immigrants, I live in two worlds highlighted by language and cultural differences.
2. What’s your position at Let America Vote and what does an ‘average’ day look like for you?
I am the political director at Let America Vote which consists of building partnerships and connections with voting rights, political and civil society organizations at the national and state levels. A typical day for me consists of meeting with partners and discussing ways we can support each other’s work as well as identifying areas where Let America Vote should be engaged in the broader progressive movement.
3. Why is it important to you that we stand up for voting rights in America? In your opinion, why is it important to vote/ have access to vote?
As a naturalized American Citizen, I take the responsibility and rights of voting very seriously. I think it’s a sacred right and it makes me angry when I think of all of the politicians who make it harder for people to vote. I understand the struggles of many who came before me to expand the right to vote to include all adult Americans no matter their gender or race.
By including more people in the process of voting we can ensure that our democracy reflects our values as a country. Inversely, laws that keep people from voting or make it harder for some people to vote undermines our democracy and ensures that our democracy only serves the interest of the few.
4. What do you think is the biggest challenge in the struggle for voting rights today?
I think a lot of people take voting for granted and think it’s easy to do without thinking about some of the barriers that others might face, or ones they may face in the future.
If you are a student or you move frequently, you may not have all the documentation necessary to prove your identity or your address of residency before a voter registration deadline. And if you live in a state where a restricted form of voter ID is required to vote, getting a government-issued ID or Driver’s license may be out of reach economically or difficult to access, thus preventing you from voting.
There are way too many barriers to voting–we should be working to tear down these barriers to ensure that any and all eligible Americans are able to participate. Many people think that’s just how the system works and there’s nothing they can do about it. That’s why I’m proud of the work we do at Let America Vote because we are organizing people to take action against politicians who are trying to keep the majority of us from voting.
5. How do you think the work of Let America Vote is helping solve that problem?
We are working to make sure that politicians who make it harder to vote through their support for anti-voter policies are held accountable at the ballot box.
By electing pro-voting rights champions to replace these politicians, we are working to turn the tide in state legislatures, governorships and local offices so that other politicians think twice before pushing bills that make it harder for people to vote. By supporting policies that make our elections more fair and accessible like automatic voter registration and efforts to restore the right to vote, we are ensuring that even more people can participate.
6. What are you most excited for as Let America Vote expands to open field offices?
Canvassing in Nevada in the summer heat!
But seriously, I’m excited that we have expanded our efforts to five states across the country that are as diverse in their demographics as in their geography. In some states we’ll be fighting to elect pro-voting rights champions and defeating anti-voter politicians, in other states we’ll be working to pass initiatives or legislation that make our elections more fair and accessible and in all of our states we are going to need volunteers who are dedicated to protecting the right to vote–I can’t wait to meet volunteers in our field offices and at the doors!
7. How do you spend your time outside of work? (i.e. hobbies, interests, etc)
Outside of my time at Let America Vote, I’m fighting the Trump Administration and working with my immigrant rights brothers and sisters to protect immigrant youth from deportation by focusing our efforts on Congress passing a Dream Act this year.
When I need to take a break, I like to read (dystopian fiction), cook (trying my hand at Indian lately) and laugh (because we must) with my friends and family.
8. Who is your voting rights inspiration?
Growing up in California, the United Farm Workers’ strikes and grape boycotts were formative experiences for me. Workers risked their livelihoods as they joined the picket line and gave the public a tangible way to participate through our economic power. Dolores Huerta, a Latina, faced racism and sexism along the way but still helped found and lead UFW. Along with the other leaders, she understood that the fight for worker’s rights was tied to the fight for civil rights and social justice that empowered people by making sure they participated in the political process.
As Dolores likes to say, “The most effective way to replace corrupt policies is by getting out the vote.” She created the iconic and inspiring chant of, “Si Se Puede” or “Yes We Can,” which I think of often as we face the daily attacks on voting rights.
Join us here at Let America Vote–donate, volunteer, get active and together, “Si Se Puede”! www.letamericavote.org/