Boosting the Ballot at UT

Lines sprawl out of college campus voting areas, and an abundance of campaign signs line walkways during this election season. While these polling spots are close to students, a number of resource organizations are working to break down other barriers that could keep college students from voting.

A 2022 report by the National Study of Learning, Voting and Engagement found that only about 48% of eligible student voters at the University of Texas at Austin participated in the midterm elections on Election Day. This was nearly 11% less than 2018. Meanwhile, 38% of eligible students at Austin Community College voted in 2022’s midterms, marking a 21% decrease from 2020.

For college students in the Austin area, resources can be found through organizations at UT and ACC. Students studying abroad can get assistance from the U.S. Embassy for help casting their vote during a federal election.

UT’s election plan is largely headed by the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life. Founded in 2000, the institute emphasizes the importance of educating, inspiring and connecting the next generation of civic leaders across the state of Texas.

The institute also conducts research in conjunction with Tufts University’s National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement, aggregating the civic engagement data of all students at UT. The institute’s data shows a clear trend of lower voter turnout from STEM majors. To mitigate this, the Annette Strauss Institute has a STEM committee aiming to promote voter engagement among these majors.

The institute also has civic engagement support programs like TX Votes, an organization focused on simplifying the voting process and increasing college voter participation.

During the recent election cycle, TX Votes implemented a strategic "Plan to Vote" campaign, which aimed to guide students through every step of the voting process, from selecting a polling location to preparing a sample ballot.

But every step of the voting process can introduce further problems for voters, especially young people in college.

Despite the challenges that Texas voting requirements pose, some success stories came out of this year’s election season. Cassie Fitzgerald, director of public affairs, elections and voter registration at Austin Community College, said one student had excitedly joined a campus parade that was walking students to the polls. As they traveled, the student realized they didn’t have their ID needed to vote.

“Luckily, her parents literally drove it down to us, and she was able to still vote that day,” Fitzgerald said.

ACC Voter ID by Medha Sarin

This interview with Fitzgerald was conducted the Monday before Election Day.

A major challenge for students is having proper voting identification.

“There's seven kinds of ID that are acceptable to present at the polls to vote a full ballot. Student ID isn't one of them,” said Fitzgerald. “That is the most common form of ID that our students have.”

To increase voter turnout, Fitzgerald co-created the ACC Votes Action Plan. According to the plan, ACC employed several partner programs in hopes of increasing the number of voters by 10 percentage points from 2020.

Fitzgerald said many students had questions about which voter ID types are eligible.

“A lot of people kind of just assume, ‘Oh, I can't vote,’” Fitzgerald said. “No, there are ways around these things. They're just kind of difficult and require some additional education.”

ACC partnered with VoteRiders, an organization that provides voter ID assistance, to address the issue. Fitzgerald said they attended a virtual presentation by the group and placed the group’s small information cards featuring voter ID rules in rooms around campus.

“They are an amazing resource,” Fitzgerald said. “All I've been trying to do is kind of just uplift that as like, the ultimate go-to spot for anything you need to know about voter ID or how to get help.”

Fitzgerald said ACC students have responded positively to the engagement efforts and that she wants students to realize how influential their vote can be.

“What I'm passionate about is kind of reconnecting students with their power that I think a lot of folks just assume that they don't have,” Fitzgerald said. “When it comes down to it, student voices really matter.”

STEM Majors by Judge Baskin:

On college campuses, voter turnout varies greatly based on major, with business and STEM majors consistently having the lowest numbers of civic engagement.

“We've always seen that STEM voters have a lower voter turnout rate,” said Adithi Rallapalli, a second-year student at UT and civic ambassador at the school’s Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life.

At UT Austin, STEM majors are 9.2% less likely to vote, even when registered, according to the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement run by Tufts University.

Rallapalli, a biology major, created an initiative aiming to bolster the low turnout numbers on her campus through a range of strategies, from in-person voter encouragement to a STEM policy panel.

“Through the panel, I could have students in the STEM fields specifically understand how what they were doing in the classroom applies to voting,” Rallapalli said. “Increased subject matter engagement increases someone’s likeliness to actually go out and vote.”

The panel, which Rallapalli held during the first week of early voting, included experts in AI and energy law. With a clear call for her audience to go to the polls, the panel reached new students who are not often plugged into politics.

Additionally, Rallapalli is planning on conducting a research survey in the spring semester to better understand STEM majors as a demographic.

“We can’t access the raw data from (Tufts)… so we can’t actually see anything about the motivations and what’s actually causing people to turn out to vote,” Rallapalli said.

Past the 2024 election, Rallapalli is shifting her focus toward the Texas legislative session, set to begin in January.

“Within the legislative session specifically, there are some really big things coming up with AI regulations, energy policy and Medicare,” Rallapalli said. “We’re hoping to encourage students to have a greater understanding of what’s going on just down the street at the Capitol.”

That encouragement is set to come in the form of volunteering events, more policy panels, and any sort of long-term involvement in civics, which has been proven to improve voter turnout over time.

STEM Majors by Flora Farr:

Rushing to the U.S. Embassy in Spain just under two weeks before Election Day 2024, Julieta Cavazos-Escobar stressed over mailing her ballot for the election. After confusion about how to get and return her ballot to Travis County, Cavazos-Escobar turned to the U.S. Embassy in Barcelona, Spain, in hopes they could help her vote securely.

Cavazos-Escobar, a UT Austin public relations senior, is studying abroad for the semester. In an effort to still participate in the federal election, she sought resources to guide her in mailing in her ballot. However, she said many of her classmates were choosing not to vote abroad, and she struggled to access her ballot from Travis County. She said she felt lost and turned to online guides through the complex process of sending her vote in.

“It would have been very helpful to receive (a guidance) email, because I know a lot of students from UT and people in the states that are not in Texas did want to vote, but they didn't know how,” Cavazos-Escobar said. “They didn't have any guidance. So that direct contact through the university would have been very helpful.”

Cavazos-Escobar said she hadn’t gotten her ballot link from Travis County initially and had to coordinate with officials to get another link to print out the ballot ahead of the deadline. However, without immediate access to a printer, this proved difficult.

“The envelope template was printed out on this sheet of paper, and I was like, ‘This isn't gonna protect it. I also don't have paper at my availability, like, what?” Cavazos-Escobar said. “So I had to watch a bunch of YouTube videos that were unfortunately not like Texas (ballots). So I was like, ‘Oh, I don't know if this counts for Texas ballots. I'm just gonna go to the U.S. Embassy.’”

The U.S. Embassy & Consulate in Spain and Andorra offers an abroad voters guide on its website and offers to help if voters run into any issues. Just a 30 second walk from the embassy in Spain, Cavazos-Escobar said the embassy offered her a envelope and allowed her to drop off her ballot there with no stamp needed.

“They were super helpful when I went therein person,” she said. “Obviously, free of charge… As a student, I don't have 70 euros to spend in mailing a paper. But yeah, it was really helpful.”

TX Votes Voterpalooza by Jewel Garcia:

TX Votes works to share resources and information to students across the UT campus by giving students the tools to make a plan to vote.

“Research shows that people are more likely to vote if they have a specific plan,” said Sofia Westmoreland, a political communication and Plan II sophomore.

One of the organization’s largest events, Voterpalooza, was strategically held near polling locations to promote voting. Collaborating with multiple civic groups and offering free food, merchandise and voter information, the event attracted students to learn about the voting process. TX Votes created a QR code that linked students to a form where they could plan their vote, select their polling place and view sample ballots.

“It was really easy for students to get all their information and easily walk to one of those polling places and vote,” said Westmoreland. “We did see that happening, some students who attended our event and then just chose to vote because they were so close.”

While the organization has been successful in engaging students, Westmoreland highlighted some of the challenges TX Votes faces, particularly during busy election cycles.

“We were in over 230 classrooms within the span of a month, and we only really have 15 to 20 active volunteers,” Westmoreland said.

The high demand for voter engagement sessions combined with the limited number of volunteers stretched the group thin. Another ongoing challenge is addressing voter apathy among students, especially during less exciting election cycles.

Despite these hurdles, TX Votes continues to push forward, making significant strides in boosting voter turnout in underrepresented student groups, such as STEM majors.. The organization has formed a committee focused on targeting STEM students, partnering with professors and placing posters in STEM buildings to encourage registration and early voting.

Looking forward, Westmoreland hopes to see increased student voter turnout. "Ultimately, our goal is to get more young voters to the ballot box," she said.

This article was co-written for my Team Solutions Assignment for my J310F Reporting Words Class.