If you can pop popcorn in a microwave, you can vote — it's that easy, a state official assured Latino voters Friday.

Pedro A. Cortés, Pennsylvania's secretary of state, used the comparison as he launched the state's "Ready, Get Set, Vote" campaign at the Puerto Rican Cultural Center in Lancaster city. The campaign is designed to encourage the state's Latino citizens to vote.

As the state's chief election official, Cortés' job is to make sure that everyone eligible is prepared to vote, Latinos included, he said.

One obstacle he wants to remove is the perception that voting is complicated.

 "If you're paying your gas by using a credit card, voting with our system is 'así de fácil' — 'it's that easy.' "

Voter turnout in Latinos' home countries is as high as 80 to 90 percent, Cortés said. When they become American citizens, however, only about 30 or 40 percent exercise their franchise.

"What we find is people are unfamiliar with the system. They think it is difficult," Cortés said.

To highlight the "voting is easy" message, the State Department commissioned the creation of a salsa tune, "¡Así de Fácil!"

Four dancers, members of the South Central Pennsylvania Salsa Meet-up Group, danced to the song at Friday's kickoff.

"It is the time for you to decide your destiny … it is in your hands," the lyrics went, according to a provided translation. "You get ready … you get set … See that everything is good … and vote."

Music was the logical choice for the message because it is so much a part of Hispanic culture, said Toni Anastasia, a spokesperson for Mendoza Group, a marketing group that coordinated making the song.

Many Latinos associate voting in their home countries with parties and festivities, said Maria Emma Restrepo, editor and writer for the Mendoza Group.

"If political issues is a party, then we have to present it as a party," Restrepo said. Salsa, which is enjoyed in virtually every Latino country, is the hook they needed.

Enid Vazquez-Pereira, station manager for WLCH-FM 91.3, Lancaster's Spanish-language radio station, said the station is likely to play the song or an edited portion of it once she makes sure the lyrics meet FCC standards.

The song will be used at future "Ready, Set, Vote" events, Anastasia said, and Cortés said it eventually would be played on radio stations across the state.

Rafael DeJesus, the founder of the Puerto Rican Cultural Center, said he thinks the Lancaster Latino community already is motivated.

"A lot of people are going to vote," DeJesus said. "Before, I didn't hear that. Now this year, it's totally different. They want a change. They're not happy with what they got."

The Lancaster County Board of Elections does not track voter registration by race or ethnicity, nor does the state.

However, Latinos are the fastest growing population in Pennsylvania, Cortés said, making them a group with increasing power. Latino numbers have grown in the state from 392,000 in the 2000 census to about 525,000 today.

Lancaster's large and growing Latino population is one reason Cortés decided to unveil "Ready, Set Vote" in the city. The county's Latinos number about 33,000, according to newspaper records.

As secretary of state, Cortés said he does not take political sides when encouraging new Latino voters to register and vote. He simply wants them to do it.

"Let's be active," Cortés said, "because the power to control the destiny as a community is in our hands. And it's easy: Register to vote. Find out where your polling place is and come out on election day."

Voter Help

For information on voting, including polling place locations and ID requirements, visit www.votespa.com, where information is available in eight languages, or call (877) 868-3772, for help in English or Spanish. 

Cortés launches the state's Ready, Get Set, Vote campaign.

E-mail: lespenshade@lnpnews.com