Houston ISD to host voter registration drive Tuesday

Students at Martin High School in Lardo ISD register to vote on Friday, Sept. 7, 2018, during a voter registration drive at the campus. Students at Martin High School in Lardo ISD register to vote on Friday, Sept. 7, 2018, during a voter registration drive at the campus. Photo: Danny Zaragoza, Staff Photographer / Laredo Morning Times Photo: Danny Zaragoza, Staff Photographer / Laredo Morning Times Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Houston ISD to host voter registration drive Tuesday 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

Houston ISD will have a district-wide voter registration drive on Tuesday, encouraging eligible students to register ahead of the November midterm elections.

District and county officials will mark National Voter Registration Day, held on the fourth Tuesday of every September, with a kickoff drive at 11:30 a.m. at Westbury High School. About 50 HISD schools serve students who could reach the age of 18 before the November election.

Under state law, officials from all Texas high schools must distribute voter registration forms at least twice each year. Varying reports and surveys have suggested some schools are not complying with the law.

Texas Secretary of State Rolando Pablos traveled to HISD last year to mark National Voter Registration Day, and the district held a voter registration drive across its high schools in February.

About 48 percent of voting-eligible Texas residents between the ages of 18 and 24 were registered for the 2016 general election, according to a University of Texas at Austin report. By comparison, about 75 percent of voting-eligible Texas residents who are older than 55 were registered to vote.

A Washington Post analysis of average voter turnout percentages in the 2006, 2010 and 2014 midterm elections found Texas ranked last among the 50 states.

The final day to register to vote in Texas is Oct. 9. The November ballot includes the gubernatorial election; the U.S. Senate race between incumbent Republican Ted Cruz and his Democratic challenger, U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke; and several closely contested seats in U.S. House of Representatives districts, as well as a slew of countywide contests.

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