If Marco Gutierrez – founder of Latinos for Trump – knew his phrase “taco trucks on every corner” was going to galvanize Latino outreach groups, he might have thought twice before he said those words. Last week, the Mexican-born Trump supporter said that if immigration goes unchecked, the United States will eventually have taco trucks all over the place, including outside the White House. Aside from being clowned for unwittingly coming up with a genius idea, he’s also inspired the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce to use “taco trucks on every corner” to fuel a voter registration campaign.
Named Guac the Vote, the organization is working with more than 200 chambers of commerce and business associations to make taco trucks a one-stop shop. On top of providing the public with delicious tacos, USHCC hopes they’ll double as voter registration centers. With registration deadlines quickly approaching for many states, USHCC wants to get the ball rolling soon. “We are hoping in the next two weeks it will be in full swing,” Javier Palomarez, the chamber’s president, told NBC News.
While it’s not yet clear how far this initiative will go, Guac the Vote has started off strong. On Friday, Colorado Democrats parked a taco truck outside of Trump’s Denver campaign office. According to Time, the group encouraged people to drop by to eat lunch, register to vote, and learn about the stakes of this year’s election. Denver City councilman Paul Lopez doesn’t know how many people registered. He just knows that the truck saw many visitors.
On the East Coast, a Florida Democrats field organizer Giovanni Sancho helped set up a similar drive on Friday.
Lopez is on board with USHCC’s idea, and hopes that it extends to more than just taco trucks. “I’d encourage all the paleteras [to register people to vote,]” he said. “You’ve got to get creative. You’ve got to go to the people.”