PROVIDENCE -- Charlotte Buchanan believes in the power of her vote, which pleased a team of "Raise Your Voice" canvassers who visited her Washington Park porch last week.

"Oh, definitely. It's definitely important to vote," said Buchanan. She says she will do exactly that in tomorrow's primary election, and in November.

"It's good to see young people out here, informing the community" about voting, said Buchanan, a customer-service representative.

But not everyone in that lower-income minority neighborhood feels the way Buchanan does, which is why the nonpartisan "Raise Your Voice" coalition is going door to door here, as well as in South Providence and Olneyville.

For instance, canvassers traversing Jillison Street in Washington Park encountered one woman who was ineligible to go to the polls.

"She's not a citizen," said Stephanie Sosa, one of the canvassers. "I asked her if there was anyone 18 or older" who was an eligible voter, "but she wasn't interested -- so we're just moving along."

So far, the campaign, launched just last month in Providence, has enlisted at least 1,000 new or "infrequent" voters who have all pledged to vote in tomorrow's primary, and/or in the November election.

The Voice Your Vote coalition includes volunteers and paid members from Rhode Island Jobs with Justice, DARE (Direct Action for Rights and Equality), and the Olneyville Neighborhood Association.

They do not discuss candidates; they focus on the power and necessity of voting and issues of community concern.

"Voice Your Vote" is a component of a larger effort known as "Raise Your Voice," which is working in other urban and under-represented areas such as Pawtucket, Woonsocket, East Providence, Central Falls and Newport.

"The process is going very well," said Meghan Purvis, voter-engagement coordinator for Ocean State Action, which serves as an umbrella for the "Raise Your Voice" coalition.

"We have an overall goal of turning out 16,000 Rhode Islanders to the polls in November who are either new registrants or who vote only during presidential elections. And it's moving along well," Purvis said.

"We've identified about 9,000 voters we'll be working with now through the November election and we'll continue to reach out to new voters and infrequent voters through the end of October."

Follow-up will include helping prospective voters identify where their polling place is, and assisting people with rides to the polls as well as providing child care.

In Providence, "we're working in the poorest neighborhoods in the city," said Corinne Teed, "Voice Your Vote" project coordinator.

"We're making sure everyone is registered to vote and knows how to vote, and has a ride to the polls," Teed said.

The Providence "Raise Your Voice" campaign has set a goal of identifying 3,050 new registrations and pledges by infrequent voters to get to the polls, Teed said. The campaign hit the 1,000 mark this past week.

The campaign also attempts to engage citizens in future community involvement over vital issues such as health care, job access and housing, and to "reach out to neighbors" over voting and issues of community concern.

"We've come across some apathy. Definitely some people feel that politicians only come into their neighborhood when they're running for office," said Teed last week. "Or they feel that things haven't changed, so why should they vote?"

That's why the canvassers emphasize the significance of ballot questions regarding issues such as affordable housing and former felons' right to vote, and how much impact their votes can have.

"It's direct democracy. You're voting for a decision. And for people who are apathetic about the representatives -- these issues hit close to home in these neighborhoods," Teed says.

The Raise Your Voice teams always include Spanish speakers who can communicate in these neighborhoods that include large Latino populations.

"I think we've definitely had a lot of new registrations in the Latino community," Teed said. "Latinos who can vote tend to be more politically engaged."

The canvassers also underscore the availability of bilingual ballots and voting materials that should smooth the voting process for Spanish speakers.

Secretary of state's spokesman Peter Kerwin said those bilingual ballots and voter information pamphlets are provided in Providence and Central Falls, because those two cities meet a federal 5-percent threshold for Hispanic citizens of voting age.

Ballot questions, in particular, can be difficult enough to read in English, Teed said. "So I'd say, translation of the ballot questions is extremely important.

"My opinion is, it's a right and a responsibility," Teed said. "If the city claims to serve its constituency, they should provide materials and services" in other predominant languages, in this case, Spanish.

kziner@projo.com / (401) 277-7375