Diego Vita/THE RIDER
With early voting running through Friday and election day being Nov. 3, students and the community prepare to cast their ballots for the midterm election.
The ballot consists of races for Texas governor, U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives and other local offices.
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott faces Democrat Gina Hinojosa and Libertarian Pat Dixon. Republican Ken Paxton, Democrat James Talarico and Libertarian Ted Brown are running for the U.S. senate seat currently held by John Cornyn.
In the Rio Grande Valley for the 15th District in Hidalgo County, Republican incumbent Monica De la Cruz faces Democrat Bobby Pulido. In the 34th Congressional District, incumbent Democrat Vicente Gonzalez faces off Republican Eric Flores.
Dalila Martinez, a criminal justice freshman, said this election is her first time voting, so it is a nerve-wracking experience for her.
Martinez said it is challenging to decide what candidates to support because seeing names on the ballot can make her question if she is making the right choice.
She added attending class and city meetings have helped her learn more about politics and gave her the opportunity to speak with one of the candidates.
Maria Salas, an anthropology junior, said she was making plans to vote with her friends on Saturday because midterm elections are “super important.”
“I think just changing, being able to have more control of, like, the house and stuff like that, just getting ourselves a little more situated will help a lot,” Salas said.
She added she mainly considers candidates based on their policies and views on LGBTQ+ rights, immigrant rights and policies with all the different wars going on.
To stay informed, she said she uses several news sites such as The Washington Post, The New York Times and The Guardian. She also uses social media and YouTube to keep up with current events.
For first time voters, Salas recommends for them to look up their ballot and research the candidates.
Alvaro Corral, assistant professor of political science for the School of Political Science, Public Affairs, Legal and Security Studies, said he recommends reviewing a sample ballot before heading to a polling location.
He said county election websites allow voters to navigate the races that correlate to their precinct.
“These sample ballots are important because it lets you see what your ballot is going to look like the day of,” Corral said.
After reviewing the ballot, students can research candidates’ positions through various forms including campaign websites, debates and news coverage. For incumbent officials, government websites can provide information about their work in office, according to Corral.
Students may also face challenges getting out to the polls to cast their vote.
Salas said transportation, balancing school and work can make voting difficult since some students do not have a car or someone that can drive them to a polling location.
“I think the campus polling sites help a lot because then you don’t have to … specifically drive out to a specific location,” she said.
Salas added she believes many people are not interested in voting.
“I feel like some people don’t have the drive to get involved,” she said.
Corral said a major barrier for young voters is voter registration because the registration deadline for this year’s election was Oct 5.
He said students have a stake in state elections because the Texas Legislature makes decisions affecting higher education, university policies and student life.
“It’s important to vote in this election because we have major offices that we voters will be deciding,” Corral said.
He said student turnout can be influential in local races, where relatively small numbers can determine the outcome.
Salas said there are many people who have a mentality that their vote does not matter and it is a reason why people miss out on votes.
“My vote isn’t going to make or break the election, but it’s the huge amount of people going, ‘well, my vote doesn’t matter,’” Salas said.
Salas said she hopes to see certain laws readjusted and a little control and stabilization to come back to the state or the country.
“Don’t let anybody intimidate you into not voting, like, they’re safe places, like, on campus and stuff where you can go out and vote, but just take advantage of the right to vote,” Salas said.
Campus polling places for early voting are Salón Jacaranda in the Student Union on the Brownsville campus and the Student Academic Center on the Edinburg campus.
For Election Day, campus polling places will be Salón Cassia in the Main Building on the Brownsville campus and Student Academic Center on the Edinburg campus.
For more information about voting, visit Hidalgo and Cameron County’s websites.
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