KINGSVILLE, Tx — It isn’t uncommon for voter registration to increase during presidential election years. However, what is uncommon is for Texas A&M University-Kingsville to see its biggest spike in just a few months.
Many college students have turned 18 in the past four years and can now legally vote, like Luis Martinez, who said he’s been waiting for this moment. He said it’s not all people should focus on just because it's a presidential election.
“I think when people start coming out for the presidential election, they all start voting, but they don’t focus on their actual county or actual district representatives that are going to go represent congress because those are the positions that I think really matter more,” Martinez said.
In the past few months, a Democratic Party candidate, a university professor, and the American Democracy Project, a student organization on campus, have given out 500 registration cards to college students.
“I saw a couple tables up until the deadline helping people register to vote. There were flyers and voter registration slips all around here as well,” history student Maximum Montalbo said.
There were five voter registration drives and 140 students registered on the spot.
“It can be kind of this intimidating thing but when they see other people getting involved and enjoying the process then they may feel more encouraged to do so,” political science major Mia Rivera said.
Voter registration organizers said they saw a spike in women who registered to vote on campus after Harris announced her running. They also saw an increase in interest after the presidential debate.
“It’s super endearing to how important it is to this generation to represent ourselves. I think it’s an important process to get our experience and voices out there and have a candidate that reflects the majority of our population,” history major Alexander Helmstetler said.
And for those who may not be able to drive to the Annex to vote early, there are shuttles that go from the university to the site and back to campus that can help.
“Students who may not otherwise have an incentive to work may be able to have that opportunity now that the university is involved in pushing students to vote,” history major Marco Ruiz said.
With classes and jobs that some college students have to balance, others encourage their classmates to take advantage of early voting days.
“It’s going to get crowded on November 5th, and the lines will pick up, so yeah, I like to do it early if possible,” general studies major Jose Villarreal said.
Although some students registered to vote because of age or whether it was because they needed a change in address, they all had one thing in common: use their voice to create change.
“No matter what voice you have it’s important to get it out there. I know in this kind of environment there's a huge variety of opinions and ideas that people might want to vote for, and I think it's important to have their votes out there,” political science major Roel Benitez said.
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