Arizona Votes: Vicente Ruiz

Vicente Ruiz is one of the voters taking the time to vote ahead of time in the 2020 election. With Día de Los Muertos taking place during the election, he wanted to ensure he could honor his ancestors and have his vote counted before the election.

An actor from Mesa, Arizona, Vicente believes his vote is for his community: the artists, family, neighbors, and small businesses.

“I chose to vote the way that I did because as wonderful as our country is, we still have work to do,” said Ruiz.

His vote reflects the understanding and awareness of how divided Ruiz feels the country is. “The desire to want to come together is not really there,” he said, emphasizing the results could divide communities further.

The local propositions he supports are the legalization of marijuana and Invest in Education, hoping to “spend less time on small issues, to begin working on the bigger picture of the state.”

“Arizona has a booming economy, and our communities are changing,” he said, noting the state demographics are changing.

To Vicente, voting gave him a sense of relief, suggesting others are also voting with this same feeling.

Continue Reading: Millions of Arizonans are Voting This Election. Here Are Their Stories.