In sneakers, Crocs and UGGs, more than a dozen University of Texas at Arlington students walked the half-mile from their dorm, Vandergriff Hall, to UTA鈥檚 early voting site at the Maverick Activities Center. It was the first day of early voting in Tarrant County, and freshman Finnly More wanted to vote as soon as possible.
鈥淚 have the right to vote, so I鈥檓 going to use it. So many people, you know, forget that we fought so hard to be able to vote,鈥� said More, who was wearing a blue UTA T-shirt and planned to put the 鈥淚 voted鈥� sticker on it after casting his first ballot in a presidential election.
Yaseen Tasnif, a former resident assistant at Vandergriff Hall, organized the walk to the polls. The UTA student has been registering students to vote and letting them know their vote matters.
鈥淲e have a lot of issues that we need fixed as college students, as people of color, but unfortunately, because we don鈥檛 show up to the polls enough, we don鈥檛 see accurate representation in politics,鈥� said Tasnif, who will serve as a presiding judge at an Arlington polling site on Election Day.
UTA is one of the largest campus early voting locations in Tarrant County, with over 9,700 people casting their early vote for the presidential election there in 2020. County Republican and Democratic leaders alike have said every vote counts in terms of what color the battleground county will turn in the presidential election and down-ballot races. President Joe Biden in 2020, while Republicans continue to hold all countywide offices.
In a pitched battle this September, UTA and other campus voting sites were potentially on the chopping block. The effort, led by Republican County Judge Tim O鈥橦are, would have from the county鈥檚 list of early voting sites. O鈥橦are cited concerns over the accessibility of campus voting sites and said commissioners should not cater to any one demographic group.
鈥淭hat doesn鈥檛 seem like the right way to run an election,鈥� O鈥橦are said. 鈥淭hat seems like it鈥檚 trying to favor one group over another. Not voter suppression.鈥�
UTA鈥檚 Maverick Activities Center, along with early voting sites on Tarrant County College鈥檚 South and Northeast campuses and at the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, were among those considered for removal. The move prompted outcry from students and university staff across the county.
Ultimately, O鈥橦are was the lone commissioner in favor of removing college polling sites, with two Republicans and two Democrats as is. County GOP leaders afterward, stating the move hurt Republican candidates鈥� chances to win in November.
The numbers behind the youth vote in Texas
The youth vote 鈥� voters ages 18-29 鈥� goes blue by large numbers. The 18-29 age range was chosen because the average age of a college student is 26, .
In 2020, 62% of the youth vote in Texas went to Biden, while Trump carried 35%, according to , a nonpartisan research group on youth civic engagement at Tufts University near Boston.
The organization does not have county-level data on the youth voting preferences. The number of registered voters ages 18-29 in Tarrant County is nearly 275,000, according to the .
Typically, youth voter turnout is low when compared to other age groups. In 2020, the national turnout for the group was 50% while the turnout percentage in Texas was even lower at 41%, according to CIRCLE. Turnout for the entire voting-age population was nearly 63%, according to .
鈥淚t shouldn鈥檛 be too surprising that O鈥橦are and the other Republicans on the commission are part of what I think is fair to describe as a national project by Republicans to boost Republican turnout and throw up obstacles to Democratic voter turnout,鈥� said Mark Hand, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Texas at Arlington. 鈥淟ike most college campuses, the UTA student body probably leans to the left, and so high or low turnout on campus could make a difference in some of the countywide races.鈥�
Trevor McCullough, a freshman majoring in political science and a member of the UTA student government鈥檚 legislative relations committee, was one of the dozen or so students who spoke out at a September commissioners court meeting, his hands shaking as he addressed elected leaders.
鈥淲e knew, number one, that it would go against everything we stood for 鈥� as student government and as Mavericks 鈥� to let something like that just slip by and hope for the best,鈥� McCullough said of the student government鈥檚 choice to speak out.
McCullough, a political science major from southwest Fort Worth, was excited to be a part of a 鈥渟ea of people鈥� who were speaking up on both sides of the issue.
鈥淚鈥檓 really interested in and I love the idea of people interacting with the government. So number one, being part of that crowd was amazing,鈥� said McCullough.
For Emeri Callaway, a prelaw and political science major at TCC Northeast campus, the polling location controversy gave students the opportunity to see what they鈥檙e working against and what needs to be done in order to move forward. Callaway, a member of Tarrant County Young Democrats, has been canvassing every weekend, participating in phone banks and ensuring that people begin to detail their plans on how, when and where they will vote.
鈥淚 would say that we just need to continue what we have been doing, which is reaching out to young Democrats, Dem supporters and even independents and moderate Republicans because we have a great slate of candidates,鈥� said Callaway. 鈥淚 am looking to turn blue at all levels of government.鈥�
The Report reached out to several young Republican groups in Tarrant County, including campus organizations. None responded to interview requests. At a in September, Jake Lloyd Colglazier, president of the Fort Worth Young Republicans, told the Report he is certain the election will result in former President Donald Trump returning to the White House.
鈥淭he Fort Worth Young Republicans stand behind him totally, and we鈥檒l do whatever we can to get him reelected,鈥� he said.
James Riddlesperger, a TCU political science professor, says much of the voter mobilization efforts for the nation鈥檚 youngest voting age group are now virtual.
鈥淚t used to be that we would have a lot of bumper stickers and a lot of yard signs and a lot of flyers that were posted on campus. That was a very common thing to happen,鈥� said Riddlesperger, who has taught at the university for over four decades.
But now, he said, partisan electioneering is more digital.
鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing it primarily in the forms of political advertisements that come across people鈥檚 social media feeds and perhaps in emails that come to their email boxes,鈥� Riddlesperger said.
In terms of getting TCC students to register to vote, it鈥檚 an in-person effort. Volunteer deputy registrars at TCC鈥檚 Northeast campus in Hurst describe the difference in interest in the upcoming elections from last spring to this fall as 鈥渘ight and day.鈥�
鈥淲hen we left in the spring, we had a lot of kids saying, 鈥業鈥檓 not really interested in voting, or I鈥檓 not political,鈥欌�� said Barbara Leath, a Grapevine retiree and a volunteer deputy registrar. She has helped staff the table once-a-week for the past four years. 鈥淲hen we came on campus this fall, our first day on campus 鈥� we should have had another person helping us, because we were so busy.鈥�
Leath has seen a lot of interest in voting among young women, with many students registering themselves and then returning with a friend wanting to register, too. That鈥檚 a phenomenon Leath hadn鈥檛 seen before.
鈥淯sually we are asking people, are you registered to vote?鈥� Leath said. 鈥�(This time) we weren鈥檛 even asking. (Students) were just coming up to us and saying, 鈥業 need to get this done.鈥欌��
More students are making a plan to vote ahead of Nov. 5. And a lot of them, Leath said, are thinking about bringing their family members to campus so that they can vote together.
Shomial Ahmad is a higher education reporter for the Fort Worth Report, in partnership with . Contact her at shomial.ahmad@fortworthreport.org.
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