On the last day to register to vote in Texas, about 30 volunteers walked up to cars lined up bumper-to-bumper in front of The Dallas County Elections Department.
For the department’s final curbside voter registration event, volunteers handed out voter registration forms to drivers and collected the documents when completed. Organizers said they wanted to make the process safe and accessible.
“People that want to register, we want to make it easy. You drive up, if you have your applications just drop them off,” said Toni Pippins-Poole, the Dallas County Elections Administrator.
“If you don’t have an application, we will give you one. You can fill it up in your car. Stay in your car. Give it to us and then leave.”
The curbside registration event began at 8 a.m. and was set to continue until midnight. Pippins-Poole said there was a line of cars all day.
One person who showed up to register was Alexis Flores. She found the event online and said she showed up with her family in mind.
“My family is originally from Mexico and they worked a lot to get here and I have not had to struggle," Flores said. "For me to just kind of like sit back and not do anything is not in question so it’s important that I’m taking advantage of the privileges that I’ve been given."
For Dallas County resident Mary Garcia, this was the first time she had registered to vote in 11 years.
“It means a lot because I’m changing from Democrat to Republican,” Garcia said. “I see that the changes with Trump is for us, the people.”
Garcia said it was time for her to step up and help with the change she wanted to see in her community. One important issue for her this election is immigration.
At the voter registration event, members of a male performance squad for the Dallas Mavericks danced to music and motivated people to fill out their forms.
Volunteer Hannah Potts said this was the third voter registration event she had helped out in this month.
“I really wanted to become a volunteer because I think our democracy has to be preserved. It’s founded on individual participation so we can make the laws that give everyone the benefits not just a few,” Potts said.
She hopes people will exercise their right to vote this election by heading to the polls for early voting, which begins Oct. 13. Election Day is November 3.
Got a tip? Alejandra Martinez is a Report For America corps member and writes about the economic impact of COVID-19 on marginalized communities for KERA News. Email Alejandra at amartinez@kera.org. You can follow Alejandra on Twitter @_martinez_ale.
KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gifttoday. Thank you.
