Monday was the last day Texans could register to vote in the November election, and advocates launched projects to sign people up. At Richland College, part of the Dallas County Community College District, the League of Women Voters urged students to participate.
"The biggest thing for us, more than anything, is to educate voters and make them comfortable this is something they can do," says the League of Women Voters' Dorit Suffness. "Especially when you're young, you're not confident."
Suffness says they signed up new voters and also answered questions about the voting process and what they will need to bring.
"Young people are our future, and they need to start voting now," she says. "The thing about voting, also, is it's a generational thing, so if a parent votes, the children tend to vote."
Also on the Richland campus Monday was the organization, Powered By People.
"A lot of young people are very inquisitive, and we ask them, 'What matters to you?'" says the group's Claudia Falzarano.
Falzarano says the organization hopes to show young people the effect they can have if they participate in the process when they are passionate about an issue.
"I think people are starting to realize [voting] is important. It is our right as a U.S. citizen," she says.
The League of Women Voters' Suffness says volunteers also urge new voters to learn about candidates and issues. She says the presidential election may draw the most attention, but she hopes to show people the importance of participating in local elections, too.
"We all have our own opinions, but when we're here, we are nonpartisan," she says. "We will not push one side or the other. Sometimes people will ask, 'Well, who should I vote for?' We will not tell you that."
The League of Women Voters has a guide to the process and information about candidates and ballot measures at https://www.vote411.org/texas .
Some students said they looked forward to voting in their first election.
"I'm really interested in seeing how turnout is going to be, especially with just how exasperated a lot of people have become," says Carlos Ortega.
Ortega works with Richland Student Media. He says they have also worked to make sure other students have information they need. He says they work to give students more information about issues that affect them, saying their organization can give a more thorough account of debates.
"That's the importance of written news," he says. "You're able to get a lot more of that format out as opposed to just an audio byte on TikTok. You're going to get a lot more substance."
"One of our viewpoints this issue is, 'How committed are you to watching political debates?'" says Malak Elkady. "A lot of them are saying, 'I'm not really committed, but I usually just watch them on TikTok.'"
Elkady says Richland Student Media can also provide information to help students feel more comfortable heading to the polls.
"This is what you need to do, this is what you need to know. That is one way we get the word out," she says.
Tufts University's Tisch College of Civic Life says 21.5% of eligible voters between the ages of 18 and 29 participated in the 2022 midterms. The organization says the national average was 23%, and every state but Louisiana had higher turnout among younger voters than 2014.
A poll by Harvard University's Institute of Politics shows 56% of young Americans said they would "definitely" vote this November. The poll showed young Americans were more likely to support Kamala Harris on issues like climate change and abortion and Donald Trump on immigration and the handling of the Israel-Hamas war. A complete rundown of the poll is available at https://iop.harvard.edu/youth-poll/48th-edition-fall-2024 .
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