You've voted. Now what? Tips to turn out the vote in Texas

You registered to vote. You researched the candidates. You voted early. Now what? Do you just wait for election results to come in? Absolutely not! There are many ways to help turn out the vote that are easy, effective, and don’t take much time out of your schedule.

Start with your friends and make it fun!

Last week, a small group of my friends challenged each other to vote early by Wednesday, Oct. 28. During that time, we texted “proof of voting” photos to the group chat. Everyone who voted by Wednesday got to join a celebratory dinner. If you didn’t vote, you didn’t get to attend dinner. It worked! One member of our group nearly missed the deadline! But when they realized they wouldn’t be able to join the dinner celebration, they went out and voted immediately. This turned out to be a great way to activate my friends and celebrate everyone’s success. While the final day of early voting is Oct. 30, there’s no reason why you can’t use this idea on Election Day. After all, a vote next Tuesday counts just the same as a vote during the early voting window.

Your district made Election Day a school holiday, but you already voted. Head back to the polls!

Of course, we would never suggest you should try to vote twice, as that is quite illegal. However, you can still visit incoming voters to campaign for public education as long as you are standing outside the designated 100-foot boundary.

• Hold a yard sign or make your own sign with poster board and markers to support your favorite candidate(s) or public education generally.
• Wear ATPE or Teach the Vote shirts, buttons, and swag that demonstrate your support for education in Texas. Even just seeing the pro-education message can be the tipping point for someone to consider public education in their voting decisions.
• Best yet, talk to people about what’s at stake in this election for your local public schools. Let people know your name and that you are an educator, and thank them for voting. Tell them whom they vote for today will determine what resources our local students and teachers receive. If your community is facing a serious local issue like school closure, a district takeover, or critical teacher shortages, let them know their state leaders and Texas House and Senate members will determine whether local schools have the support they need to address these issues. If you believe one candidate is better than their opponent for public education, ask them to support that candidate.

Use your educator skills to support new voters

Do you know anyone who is voting for the first time or might need a little help with the process? As an educator, you are uniquely qualified to help someone who is just learning how to vote. Check in with them and help them create a voting plan. It’s not too late. In fact, voting can get more stressful as Election Day approaches. New voters need guidance as Election Day approaches.

New voters, like high school seniors, college students, newly naturalized citizens, and recently relocated Texans, are the most likely to need a little encouragement and help navigating the voting process. A little help can mean the difference between new voters and never voters.

What if you want to engage, but you are feeling a little overwhelmed by life at the moment?

Coordinating a voting challenge or heading to the polls for an afternoon might be too much for your bandwidth right now. We get it! But sometimes all it takes to get someone to the polls is a quick reminder from someone in their inner circle.

Text five people and remind them to vote.

With close friends and family, a simple “Have you voted yet?” text can go a long way. If they have already voted, you will both feel great about the exchange. If they haven’t yet, it's an easy opportunity to have a short text conversation encouraging them to vote. Many people just need a small nudge.

Maybe it’s you who hasn’t had the oppotunity to go vote yet—life happens. Make lemonade out of those lemons by offering a ride to one person to head to the polls with you. You could be the little motivation they needed to cast their ballot, and getting them there might be the motivation to get you to the polls as well.

Do you have ideas for encouraging others to vote? Please share them along with your photos in The Rotunda, our dedicated community for advocacy on the ATPE Online Community. As the largest educator association in Texas, ATPE members have a powerful collective voice, but we can’t make it heard if we don’t vote. Now is the time!