Today is the last day to register to vote for the Nov. 2 elections, and students who have yet to register are being urged to do so.
ReEnergize the Vote, a non-partisan, youth-focused voter registration and mobilization campaign run by the Sierra Club, manned various stations around campus the past two weeks and will continue today.
The organization is taking the process a step further by asking students to sign a “Yes, I’m Voting” pledge sheet.
The nationwide organization has also implemented a text message service, which will send text messages regarding information about early voting, as well as a reminder to vote on Nov. 2.
“With the texting campain, we have found that there is much more of a response, especially with students,” lead campus organizer for ReEnergize the Vote Liana Lopez said. “This campaign has risen in numbers in other parts of the country, so we are doing it here.”
Members of Chi Upsilon Sigma, a UH sorority, have joined forces with ReEnergize the Vote to help register students before today’s deadline.
“We’re always ready to help out in a variety of ways and I have always wanted to get involved politically,” human development senior Priscilla Benitez said.
The group has also taken their campaign online by starting both a Facebook page and a Twitter feed.
“The Obama folks used the Internet most effectively in 2008,” UH political science professor Timothy Howard said. “However, what impact social networks have on this election remains unseen.”
Voter registration tables will be set up at the University Center, the Wellness and Recreation Center and the Cougar Den throughout Monday.
For anyone unable to register on campus, the Texas Secretary of State has set up a website, votexas.org, where people can register as well as find out when early voting starts and precint locations, among other voting-related information.
