Alicia Pierce is the director of communications for the Office of the Secretary of State and wants to encourage citizens to vote in the upcoming statewide elections on Nov. 3. Battalion news editor Sam King spoke with her to discover why, how and what people can vote for on Tuesday.
THE BATTALION: Why do you think more people vote in national elections — like the presidential elections — than in more local elections like this which have a more direct impact?
PIERCE: It’s hard to say why voters come out or don’t come out. A lot of times it depends on if they’re excited about the candidate, if they’re excited about the issue. What we want to do is make sure that every Texan knows that there’s an election going on and, if they do want to vote and participate in this election, that they have all the information they need to be able to do that.
THE BATTALION: Why should someone vote in state elections?
PIERCE: Texans are going to go to the polls on Tuesday to vote on seven proposed constitutional amendments and this is a chance for them to directly affect the highest governing document in our state.
THE BATTALION: Why should college students specifically vote in statewide constitutional elections?
PIERCE: These are issues that will affect them. Even if it’s not today, it will affect them tomorrow. So these are issues like transportation funding, property taxes, benefits for veterans, rights to hunting and fishing, so they’re issues that may or may not affect them today, but have a lot to do about what Texas.
THE BATTALION: What are the voting rates during statewide elections for constitutional amendments?
PIERCE: Constitutional amendments do tend to be a slightly, they tend to be a lower turnout election because we don’t have candidates who are out there pushing for that interest, or there’s not a name to associate with some of the issues. They’re important nonetheless, and like I said, it goes to the very fabric of our governing documents here in Texas.
THE BATTALION: What should someone bring with them when they go to vote?
PIERCE: Texans who are voting will need to bring one of seven forms of approved photo ID. A college photo ID is not one of those approved forms of photo ID, so you would need something like a Texas driver’s license, a Texas personal identification card, a concealed handgun license, a U.S. passport, a U.S. citizenship certificate or a military ID with your photo on it. Now, if you didn’t have any of those forms of photo ID, you could get an election identification certificate from the Department of Public Safety.
