During the current Texas Legislative session, many topics concerning the rights of all Texans are being discussed. One of these topics is voting rights. America is seeing one of the largest voting reform movements of the decade, with state legislatures pushing for more restrictive early voting methods, as well as attempting to combat voter fraud, according to the New York Times. The latest push in this movement is taking place on college campuses across the state and could have an extreme effect on the voting opportunities for young voters. 

House Bill 2390, filed by Representative Carrie Issac (R), who represents parts of Hays and Comal County, seeks to prohibit the placement of polling locations on college campuses. According to an article from ABC, Isaac relates the bill to an issue of campus safety, with her stating that “I have experienced firsthand the heightened emotions that often occur at polling locations and I will not wait for more violence to act.” 

HB 2390 is just one of “over 100 election-related bills that have been filed this session,” per an article from Houston Public Media. This is just the latest attempt in a massive statewide election reform movement that aims to decrease voter turnout. 

Campus polling locations, like the one offered at UTSA this past cycle, allow students and staff an opportunity to make their voices heard. Removing these polling locations would have a negative effect on youth voter turnout and is a blatant violation of the voting rights of college students. We deserve to have easily accessible, convenient polling locations on our campuses, and we cannot allow this brazen targeting of our voting rights to go unnoticed. 

You can find the contact information for your local representative’s office at https://house.texas.gov/members/and https://senate.texas.gov/members.php.