Feminist Friday: Austin Voter Registration Round-Up

If you’ve been following the news around Texas (and many other parts of the country), you know it’s been quite a week. Rick Perry signed new abortion restrictions into law yesterday morning. I couldn’t make it, but I watched a live feed online, feeling sick the entire time. When Jon asked why I was torturing myself watching it, I glibly replied, “masochism.” Then I less-glibly responded that denial and disengagement won’t solve anything.

There are a number of ways to experience political disengagement. One of the worst? Not voting. Especially not voting during midterm elections. (You know, those elections people forget about because nobody is running for president and shoving ads in your faces everywhere you look that has a screen.) And it’s not just about registering yourself. There are ways to help to ensure that all people get registered and get out to the polls.

Do you need to register in Texas, or update your registration? Do you want to become a deputy voter registrar to help out with the election process? You’re in luck. There are events, both upcoming and ongoing in Austin that will make sure you’re set for the next election.

The training will be immediately followed by a brief press conference with Congressman Lloyd Doggett, Travis County Tax Assessor & Voter Registrar Bruce Elfant, Austin City Councilmember Mike Martinez, and special guests.

Looking for other opportunities? Battleground Texas has a cool web site that lets you do a geographic search by zip code of upcoming events, and most of them are voter registration:http://battletx.bluestatedigital.com/page/event/search_simple

You can also access the Texas Volunteer Deputy Registrar Guide here.