In spite of what many media outlets tried to have you believe about May Day, the largest May Day march was a peaceful rally on behalf of immigrant rights this year. Immigrant rights activists have been marching since 2006 across the nation, chanting “Si, se puede!” and calling for equal treatment. For us, this chant harkens to the most fundamental right of all: the right to vote.

For the foreign-born population in Seattle, the number of eligible voters who turn out to vote is dismally low, often about 20 percent less than the overall voter population in Seattle. In 2013, close to 58 percent of eligible voters turned in ballots in Seattle—but less than 33 percent of eligible immigrant voters turned in a ballot.

Why are immigrants who are otherwise eligible to vote participating in our democracy at about half the rate of the overall population?

Immigrants have arguably worked harder than any of us to become citizens, having taken exams and navigated the grueling immigration process. The application to become a citizen is approximately $600 alone—that does not include the expense of getting fingerprints, exam preparation, learning English, and other additional forms. One reason may be that many immigrants come from countries where the political climate makes it impossible for them to vote and have a voice in the political process.

Last year we were brought together on the Mayor’s Immigrant Voting Rights Taskforce—made up of attorneys, advocates, community leaders and nonprofit directors—because of our dedication to voting rights issues in the immigrant community. This was the first time an elected official in Seattle asked for meaningful recommendations to support the immigrant community’s voting rights and access. Collectively, we devoted hundreds of volunteer hours to this project and even hosted a community roundtable to get additional feedback from a broader range of community members. We did it because we believe in the fundamental right to vote.

What we found was this: immigrant communities face many obstacles to participating in Seattle’s civic and political life, including insufficient information about elections and voting in languages other than English, a technology gap between immigrants and other residents, inaccessible ballot drop boxes, and an unmet demand for naturalization services.

During a community roundtable we heard that there was a fundamental need for more drop boxes and that this was an issue about access, availability, and distribution. Many people didn’t know when the ballot-collecting vans would show up in their neighborhoods. We talked at length about the lack of reliable data and that many people were confused about the political process.

That’s why we recommended the formation of the Seattle Votes campaign. The goal of Seattle Votes is to educate key communities about how to participate in the political process through voter registration, naturalization, and advocacy. Key priorities include improved data collection, civic education, multilingual training and information, and engaging young voters.

We are also recommending that the city take a more active role in assisting eligible residents in becoming U.S. citizens. There are an estimated 180,000 legal permanent residents in Washington State eligible to become citizens and gain the right to vote. But people face many barriers to become a citizen. Thousands of people are postponing their right to participate in our democracy because of exorbitant fees, language barriers, and complicated paperwork. As of 2010, there were 119,661 legal permanent residents in King County who were eligible to be naturalized citizens. Investing in citizenship is something we can do today.

As advocates in this field, we had heard about other jurisdictions giving noncitizens the right to vote and we addressed it in our report. Given the legal hurdles presented by this option and the administrative nightmare to implement a voting system for only some of our immigrants, we opted to wait for direction from the state legislature and support the work of King County Elections. We would rather focus our time on strategic and authentic items that we can do—like support the passage of the Washington Voting Rights Act, a key piece of legislation that has been debated in the Washington State legislature and repeatedly passed by the state house. King County Elections has already agreed to work with the City of Seattle to find locations for new drop boxes within city limits.

Although most Americans agree that the right to vote is self-evident, it has never been self-enforcing. In fact, it has been exclusive from in its inception. Even 50 years after the 1965 Voting Rights Act, many communities of color continue to face inequitable barriers to voting. According to the Brennan Center, at least 40 restrictive voting bills have been introduced in state legislatures across the country in 2015 alone. Washington and the City of Seattle can lead the country to better times.

We came together because we believe that ensuring that immigrants in our city are able to exercise their right to vote is fundamental to our democracy. We thank Mayor Ed Murray for recognizing that, and we look forward to working with him to implement the Seattle Votes campaign.

Dana Laurent is the Executive Director of the Win/Win Network, which coordinates nonprofit civic engagement organizations in Washington State. David Perez is an attorney in Seattle, and the co-author of the Washington Voting Rights Act.