Voter Registration Drive

According to our country's Constitution, democracy is the foundation of this nation. The American founding fathers and the early colonists fought with their lives to obtain the rights we have today, including the right to vote. So why do some citizens take this privilege for granted? The answer to this question may be different in the minds of every American to this date; nonetheless, voting is an action that can give the people a voice within our government.

Texas A&M International University's Student Government Association (SGA), in conjunction with the TAMIU Political Science Association (PSA) and TAMIU College Democrats, had voter registration locations within the university to encourage students to register for the upcoming election. These voter registration areas lasted from Monday, Oct. 1 through Saturday, Oct. 6.

The Bridge had the opportunity to interview one of the hosts of a registration area, Efren Chavez Jr. Chavez is a member of both SGA and PSA, serving as director of the freshman representative council and director of fundraising, respectively. Chavez shared that the registration stations had already registered over a 100 students on Thursday, Oct. 4.

A concern that arose was that some students who live on campus are not originally from Laredo. Their main burden was that of wanting to vote here but not having accurate information on their current address. Although the voting sites in the university could not give them specific instructions as to what they needed to do, the hosts encouraged these students to fill out the residency portion of the application to update their information. Chavez also emphasized that although they did not know that specific information, they continually kept in touch with the elections office. Chavez explained how there were more female registered voters than male, which ranged in ages.

Chavez shared his urge for students and the community to register for the upcoming election by sharing other locations where they could also get registered like the county courthouse. Chavez stated, "I encourage them to register to vote as soon as possible since the elections are coming up, and it is very important to voice your opinion." Last day to register was Tuesday, Oct. 9.

For more information on the student registration outcome, the public may contact Efren Chavez Jr. at efrenchavez@dusty.tamiu.edu

(Neguif Angeles may be reached at neguif.angeles@dusty.tamiu.edu)