Here’s How Mexicans Living Abroad Can Vote in This Year’s Election

Two women will face off for Mexico’s highest office in what is set to be a historic election later this spring.

Mexicans will choose their first female president on June 2, and they will also vote to renew all 500 deputies for the lower chamber of Congress and the 128 members of the Senate. At the same time, 30 of the country’s 32 states will be holding elections — with 19,000 state and local offices up for grabs.

This is the first national election in which Mexico will allow residents living abroad to vote. More than 12 million citizens live outside the country, 97 percent of them in the United States, according to the Institute of Mexicans Abroad. But in order to vote, those citizens must first register by Feb. 20.

Here’s what you need to do now to be eligible to cast a ballot in June.

Who can cast their vote outside the country?

Mexicans who are 18 years old and older, have a valid voting ID and are registered to participate in the process can vote. Those who will be 18 years old by Election Day can also register to vote.

To exercise their right, all eligible citizens are required to have a valid voting ID, often simply called an “I.N.E.,” after the initials of the National Electoral Institute, the Mexican voting authority.

How can I get a valid voting ID?

Eligible voters can walk into consulates without prior appointments to request their IDs. The deadline to request an ID is Feb. 20.