Civic Engagement
Voting Resources
Three Ways to Register to Vote
- Fill out this online application, print it out, sign it, and mail it to your county’s elections office. Woohoo!
- Request a paper application mailed to your address, fill it out, sign it, and mail it back. You did it!
- Visit your county’s voter registrar in person and fill out the application there. You’re all set!
Two Ways to Check Your Voter Registration Status
- Use the Texas Secretary of State’s Voter Portal
- Contact your county’s elections office and verify your registration status.
Get Out the Vote
Getting more people to vote isn’t a magic formula, there are lots of ways to get people involved. Here are a few time-proven tactics:
- Get certified as a deputy voter registrar. Each county will have their own process to sign up. To see if you’re qualified for the job, check out this info on the Texas Department of State website.
- Make a plan to vote & vote early. During early voting, the lines are shorter and if you’ve voted early, you help speed up the process on voting day for people who can’t leave work to vote early. But don’t leave your voting plan up to chance. Before the election, think about what day would be the best for you to go and vote and find your closest polling location.
- Check in with 5 people about their voting plan. Sometimes a personal reminder is all people need. Everyone is jugging a lot, so a reminder from a friend about when early voting is open, and where to register can go a long way. Feel free to share the information above about how to register to vote and how to check voter registration status. Whenever possible, it can help to go with your friends. Carpooling or walking together to the polls can make a mundane task into a social experience.
- Post your voting selfie on social media to encourage your friends to go!
School Boards
School boards have a lot of power in Texas. They can implement policies that will harm or help LGBTQIA+ students. And we’ve seen recent attempts to use school boards for this very purpose. While people tend to take time to evaluate national and state-level candidates, school boards may have a bigger impact on your day-to-day lives. Be sure you know who is running, and who paid for their campaign. Reach out to them and ask about how they intend to support LGBTQIA+ students. What they say (or don’t say) will tell you all you need to know.
But getting people elected is only half the battle. It’s important to stay engaged and aware of policies that the school board is considering. If your school district has a newsletter, sign up to stay up to date about what is going on. When a harmful policy is being presented, show up. School board meetings always have a moment for public comment. So, bring your friends, put some thought into how you want to present your case, and speak out.
For help on preparing your testimony, and other support when your school board is threatening the community, please fill out our request help form.