Tag: John Lewis

Black Voters Matter Tour Visits ACC

On February 16, 2022, organizers from Black Voters Matter visited Austin Community College’s Highland campus as part of their Campus Blackout Tour. The outreach tour across Texas aimed to educate and register young voters ahead of the recent March 2 primary election. The weeklong bus tour began in Houston, Texas on February 14 and ended in Tyler, Texas on February 18.

Story by Ky Duffey

Edited by Pete Ramirez

“Are y’all registered to vote yet?” Black Voters Matter senior organizing manager, Dionna La’Fay said to two ACC students as they walked by.

La’Fay and her colleagues stood in the breezeway outside ACC’s Highland campus engaging with students and handing out flyers with instructions on how to register to vote.

Organizers from Black Voters Matter set up a table at ACC's Highland campus.
Black Voters Matter organizers set up in the breezeway at Austin Community College’s Highland campus. Photo by Ky Duffey

A non-profit organization that focuses on voting rights and community empowerment, Black Voters Matter stopped in Austin on the third day of their bus tour. While in town, the tour made stops at ACC’s Riverside campus and Huston-Tillotson University, a historically black college.

Traveling around the state in a bus wrapped in the photos of members of the Freedom Riders movement of 1961, which includes the late congressman John Lewis, the organization also held voter registration events in San Antonio, Dallas and Fort Worth.

“While these conversations are necessary for traditional 4-year university students, the 2-year college students are the folks that will be engaging the workforce sooner,” La’Fay said. “So it’s better for us to educate them and teach them how to advocate for themselves now while we still have their attention.”

A table with Black Voters Matter swag like fans, face masks and buttons that the organization was passing out to students.
While the non-profit organization was on campus, they engaged with students using Black Voters Matter branded gear to start conversations and ask them if they were registered to vote. Photo by Pete Ramirez

Black Voters Matter was founded in 2016 by LaTosha Brown and Cliff Albright with the goal of increasing power in communities by focusing on voter registration, getting out the vote, independent election-related expenditures, and organizational development and training for other grassroots groups. The organization bases itself in Atlanta, Georgia, yet as of 2020 has expanded to Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, Louisiana, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Alabama and Mississippi. 

The bus tours were created to allow the organization to travel across the Southern United States in order to galvanize voters and stop voter suppression, especially in swing states.

During the 2018 elections, Senator Ted Cruz narrowly defeated Democratic favorite, Beto O’Rourke, by less than 3%. Last year during the 2020 presidential election, Donald Trump won Texas by a 5.58 point margin, the narrowest for a Republican presidential candidate in the state since 1996. 

Political experts see this as an indicator of Texas edging closer to becoming a swing state. Black Voters Matter view it as an opportunity to challenge more Texans to become engaged in the political process and vote.

The Black Voters Matter tour bus parked at Huston-Tillotson University. There a handful of people standing outside the bus and taking photos of and with the bus in the background.
The Black Voters Matter tour bus during their visit to Huston-Tillotson University. Photo by Ky Duffey

“Our goal with the bus tours is to remind students how important and easy it is to vote and engage before the primaries,” La’Fay said. “Voting is one aspect to building power.”

With the recent implementation of the controversial new Texas voting law, SB 1, voting rights organizations like Black Voters Matter are galvanized in their efforts to expand the electorate in the state.

“Organizations like the Texas Civil Rights Project have been amazing with making sure that we’re educated on the changes,” says La’Fay. “It’s not stopping anything we had already planned.”

For ACC students who want to get more involved with the electoral process, La’Fay recommends a few things:

  • Look into state boards, commissions and precinct chairs because some of them help to create local policy
  • Become a poll worker. According to La’Fay, several polling locations were closed in 2020 because they had staffing shortages.
  • Join organizations like Black Voters Matter that work on voter registration and civic education in your community.

“As you learn, share what you’re doing with the folks around you so we can build power together,” La’Fay said.

You can find more information about Black Voters Matter at blackvotersmatterfund.org or by visiting their Instagram page @blackvotersmtr.



How To Register To Vote


It’s 2022 which means another midterm election is upon us. While President Biden won’t be on the ballot this year, his ability to further his plans and agenda will be at stake. It is our responsibility as engaged citizens to ensure our voices are heard at the ballot box. 

Story by Ky Duffey

Edited by Pete Ramirez

How Do I Register to Vote?

Voter registration is simple for those who have not yet registered. All you need to do is:

  1. Meet the requirements listed below 
  2. Complete a voter registration application
  3. Submit your completed application to your county election office no later than 30 days prior to the election date. 

However, if you want to vote in the Texas state primary elections for statewide positions on March 1, 2022, you will need to submit the application by Monday, January 31, 2022. 

In order to register to vote in the State of Texas, you have to meet the following requirements:

  • Be a United States citizen
  • Be a resident of the county where you submit the application
  • You are at least 17 years and 10 months old, and you are 18 years of age on Election Day.
  • You are not a convicted felon (you may be eligible to vote if you have completed your sentence, probation and parole)
  • You have not been declared by a court exercising probate jurisdiction to be either totally mentally incapacitated or partially mentally incapacitated without the right to vote.
People casting their ballots in a row, each covered by privacy cubicles.
Voters casting their votes on Election Day. (Photo: Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty Images)

What Are Midterm Elections?

They are called “midterm” because they happen in the middle of a presidential term. 

Apart from the general and special elections, the midterm election refers to the type of election where the people are given an opportunity to elect their congressional representatives and other subnational officeholders such as the governor and members of the local council. 

Every two years, every seat in the U.S. House of Representatives is up for re-election. In the Senate, Senators serve 6-year terms. This year, a little over a third of the Senate is up for re-election, with 14 Democratic Senators as well as 20 Republican Senators. 

Both Texas Senators, Ted Cruz and John Cornyn will not be up for re-election this year. 

Because most states schedule state elections along the same lines as Congressional elections, Texas’ governor, Greg Abbott, and members of the state Legislature will be on the ballot this year. 

It is essential that you research more on which members at the state level will be seeking re-election as well as the state laws that will be up for a public vote at the ballot box.

Governor Greg Abbott is up for re-election this year. His primary challenger is former US Representative, Beto O’Rourke SOURCE

Why are Midterm Elections Important?

In order for a President to enact an agenda, they need a majority vote in both the House and Senate. Without a majority, much of a President’s agenda can be stalled or blocked completely, which can affect the administration’s standing among the public. 

If a President has a majority of members of their own party in the House and Senate, that President has a better chance of delivering on their campaign promises. 

Unlike the President, the House and Senate are voted in by popular vote. Depending on which party you support, your participation in midterm elections can determine which laws make it to the President’s desk or not.

When Are The Midterm Elections?

The midterms will take place on November 8, 2022. 

As a resident of Texas, you’ll be able to vote for your respective House Representative, the Governor and certain state Legislature members as well as any laws that may be up for a public vote in your area. 

Use this link to find who represents you in the House of Representatives.

Use this link to find out who represents you in the state Legislature.

Call your county election office for further questions or concerns about this year’s elections.

The late civil rights activist and Congressman John Lewis once said, “The right to vote is precious, almost sacred. It is the most powerful non-violent tool or instrument in a democratic society. We must use it.”