The UH GCSW and SGA have sponsored shuttles to a voting location. | Courtesy of UH GCSW Student Association
With the midterm elections upon us, two campus organizations have teamed up to make voting more accessible for UH students.
The Advocacy and Civic Engagement sub-committee of the Graduate College of Social Work’s Dean’s Advisory Council and the Student Government Association are sponsoring early voting shuttles to the Palm Center polling location, said president of the GCSW Student Association Ali Lozano.
Students from precincts all over Harris County will be able to use this service to cast their votes Monday, Oct. 22 from 12:00 to 4:00 p.m. and Tuesday, Oct. 23 from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. The shuttle will meet at University Drive in front of Student Center South.
“Anyone who registered to vote before the Oct. 9 voter registration deadline is able to go vote,” Lozano said. “Since this shuttle service will be running during the early vote period, students can vote anywhere, they are not mandated to vote at their registered precinct polling location.”
This is the first time the GCSW is offering this service to students campus-wide. There will be three shuttles per hour, with one arriving approximately every 20 minutes. The round-trip to and from the polling location should take no more than 20 minutes, she said.
Students who take one of the shuttles will receive a free water, a T-shirt, an “I Voted” sticker and a non-partisan voter guide from the League of Women Voters, Lozano said.
“On Monday, Oct. 22 between 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., the shuttle ride will be provided by the Houston History Bus where students can also learn about the history of Third Ward, OST and Riverside Terrace while they ride,” Lozano said.
SGA and GCSW Student Association came up with the idea to sponsor shuttles for students since there will not be a polling location on campus, she said. The goal is to guarantee that students will be able to get out and vote, should they so desire.
“Given we are offering this shuttle service over the course of two days for four hours at a time, our hope is that a large amount of students will utilize the service,” Lozano said.
