Joel Solis/The Collegian
ALEX HOBEN
editor-in-chief
alexandra.hoben@my.tccd.edu
The deadline to register to vote in this year’s midterms is coming up, and some TCC members are encouraging students to register while others believe it’s more important to be informed.
To participate in the fall midterm elections, a citizenperson needs to register to vote by Oct. 11. There have been tables provided across the district that can help students fill out the paperwork necessary for the process, and on SE Campus they’re planning a Voter Education Week during Oct. 3-7.
“Throughout the month of September, Tarrant County Volunteer Deputy Registrars, Texas Rising and MOVE Texas programs have been on the Southeast Campus encouraging students to get registered to vote and educating them on voter registration and election deadlines,” SE Campus coordinator of student activities Veronica Guzman said.
The voter education week will include activities such as meeting local officials, a mock election to show what submitting a ballot is like and a discussion of who will be on the ballot this year. Also, on Monday, there will be tables will be available for students to register and learn about the voting process on SE.
According to howto.vote, someone can register in-person or mail a filled-out form to a local election office. If someone is unsure of whether they are registered, it’s possible to check their status through the Texas secretary of state’s website after providing some information.
South Campus instructor Carlos Rovelo explains the importance of voting to his class every day.
“I’m very passionate about the future, and when I present this topic to my students, it’s about your future. It’s not about mine, it’s about yours,” he said.
Rovelo said he wants his students to realize the work it took to get America to the point where it’s easy to register and vote in elections. He also said it is important to realize that voting is starting a legacy that will continue for future generations.
“What you do will change who follows, in the sense you don’t want your future generation to start where you are starting right now,” he said. “You want that the next generation will understand the implications of voting, the benefits of education, and because you provided the foundation, they don’t have to start where you began.”
Rovelo also said that the district has been very proactive in its efforts to get students to register and he encourages them to make use of the easy way available.
“It is a no-brainer to register to vote, but where there is no will and responsibility, we just take it for granted,” he said.
Rovelo said everything regarding voting is for the betterment of the future and students should understand that it is up to them to vote on what they believe in.
“You gotta vote,” he said. “You got to engage, and don’t vote out of fear because that doesn’t work either. You need to vote out of the conviction of what we need. We need more diversity. Most of the people that are elected to higher office don’t represent the issues of our population.”
South Campus instructor Timothy Matyjewicz believes it’s more important that students are well-informed and self-motivated to go and vote for the candidates they have researched.
“If you are not properly informed or genuinely interested, then you will likely vote for whatever you think might benefit you in the short-term,” Matyjewicz said. “I want informed voters, not sheer numbers. Signing up masses of uneducated voters is akin to signing up people for handgun permits.”
NE Campus student Ashley Mier said she believes it’s important for students to vote so they can have the ability to choose representatives who would do good for their community. She also said that the local elections are incredibly important because those are the ones that will affect you directly.
“They’re working with you on local terms. Whatever projects that they have, it’s going to affect your community,” she said.
Mier said that it’s important for students to understand and teach the next generation about the importance of voting because this will affect them in the future. She encourages students to register.
“If you’re hesitant to vote, if it’s because you just don’t know then I think you should try to educate yourself on it,” Mier said. “It’s not necessarily that you’re not good at it, it’s just informing yourself because this is going to affect you, it may not affect you now but it will affect you later and by the time you realize it affects you there’s not much you can do about it.”
