Today is , a push to get voters on the rolls before registration ends. (In Texas, that鈥檚 Oct. 9.)
According to from the AG真人百家乐 County鈥檚 voter registrar, the county 鈥渆njoys the highest voter registration rate (78%) among urban counties in Texas.鈥� That鈥檚 some 607,000 county residents. As part of National Voter Registration Day, officials want to swell that number to 650,000.
But will more registered voters actually lead to more votes and more engagement?
鈥淭here are about 460,000 registered voters here inside the city of Austin,鈥� local political consultant Mark Littlefield . 鈥淲e have about 79,000 likely voters in a City Council election. If it is a municipal election where there is no hot mayor鈥檚 race, you are looking at turnout of 30,000, about eight percent.鈥�
The fact that Austin鈥檚 high registration rate doesn鈥檛 square with turnout has attracted notice. Daniel Llanes with the tells KUT News that registering voters isn鈥檛 the challenge as much as it is getting registered voters to the polls; his group has since offered simple solutions like finding rides and babysitters for those looking to vote.
KUT News, and the are raising awareness in Central Texas about low rates of civic participation and the impact on democracy. Join us Tuesday, October 2, 2012, for 鈥�,鈥� a conversation with young Texans 鈥� those who are engaged and those who aren't 鈥� about the causes of low civic participation and how to boost it. You can .
Why are young Texans increasingly tuning out of the political process? Leave a comment below, or join the conversation on Twitter using hashtag #.
