I started with a phone call to the Defensoria del Pueblo de la Ciudad on April 8 about my voter registration as a new citizen, and they directed me to Tribunal Superior de Justicia de la Ciudad where I had no success in registering on April 10. I learned that registration was closed until July 27, 2015, during the city elections.
Today I went to the Tribunal Superior at Cerrito 760 hoping to complete my voter registration. The security guard at the front desk informed me that the office was on vacation after the elections. I tried to get information about how I could get on the voter roll since I've been a citizen since July 4, 2013. My conversation was heard by a man in a nearby office who came out to assist. He directed me to the federal court building at Tucuman 1320 lower level.
I entered federal court building and was directed to the hallway on the left where there was a line of people dealing with their voter-related issues. I presented my DNI and told the woman that I'm not on the voter roll. She checked to confirm that fact which I've done many times. She took a photo copy of my DNI, noted my telephone number, and said, "you are not eligible to vote this year." I asked who is responsible for providing information for new citizens to the federal election office, and she answered Registro Nacional de las Personas (RENAPER).
After my experience, I recommend that foreigners who become Argentine citizens handle their own voting registration at the federal election office themselves, and not rely on RENAPER to do so. I am disappointed that I wasn't able to vote in the city election and will not be voting in October for a new president.
