Make your voice heard, VOTE!

Election Day is quickly approaching:

Help the University of Houston and SGA reach the goal of registering 10,000 students to vote!

Give us credit towards our count by registering through www.studentvote.org or with any voter registration station across campus. You will see our volunteers out with clipboards across campus through October 9th.

Things to know:

Register to Vote
Deadline-Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Early Voting Starts
Monday, October 22, 2012

Last Date for Early Voting
Friday, November 2, 2012

Remember after November 2nd, you have to vote at your home poll on Election Day.

General Election Day
Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Out of State Students have two options:

Register to vote in your home county and state or vote by absentee ballot.

Register to vote in Harris County (here) by October 9th and vote early at any poll or at your designated poll on Election Day.

We are making it even easier to vote! We will be offering a shuttle service that will take you to vote and bring you back to campus. Check back here for dates!

Things to Remember on Voting:

For more information on voting and to locate your Harris County polling location go to:
www.tax.co.harris.tx.us
click on Voter Registration

Students who reside in counties other than Harris County may wish to contact the tax assessor/collector's office in their home county to facilitate registration or early voting. The following is a partial listing of tax assessor/collectors' websites in surrounding counties:

Brazoria County
www.brazoria-county.com

Chambers County
www.co.chambers.tx.us

Fort Bend County
www.co.fort-bend.tx.us

Galveston County
www.co.galveston.tx.us

Montgomery County
www.co.montgomery.tx.us

Importance of Voting

The only way to preserve the government "of the people, by the people, for the people" that President Abraham Lincoln described in the Gettysburg Address is for "the people" to participate in election of that government. "The people" that Lincoln was talking about includes each one of us. Voting is not an every four year event when the hoopla of a presidential election stirs voters' interest. The down ballot and off-year elections are very important as well. These are the elections that govern everything from potholes to education to parks to environmental protection to public safety– issues that have an everyday impact on our lives and deserve our attention.

Not too many years ago, people were willing to risk their lives to secure the right to vote. It is a privilege we cannot take for granted. It was not until 1918 that women were allowed to vote. Eighteen year olds have only been able to vote since 1971. The very close Bush v. Gore presidential election in 2000 showed us clearly that each vote can make a difference. Voting is the cornerstone of democracy. We cannot waste this hard-won privilege if we want to preserve government "of the people, by the people, for the people."

Constitutional Provisions Concerning Voting and Elections

Article I, Section 2 Election of United States Representatives
Article I, Section 3 Election of Senators
Article II, Section 1 Election of the President & Vice President
Amendment 12 Election of the President & Vice President
Amendment 14 Equal Protection of the Laws
Amendment 15 Voting Rights for Black Men
Amendment 17 Direct Election of Senators
Amendment 19 Voting Rights for Women
Amendment 23 Electoral Votes for the District of Columbia
Amendment 24 Banning the Poll Tax
Amendment 26 Voting Rights for Young Adults

Additional Resources Concerning The United States Constitution, Elections and Voting

Download your own personal Pocket Constitution App for your iPhone from the National Constitution Center here.

The National Constitution Center's Constitution Day Website.
http://constitutioncenter.org/constitution-day/

College Students and Voting Time Article
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1849906,00.html

The U.S. Constitution & Amendments Dates to Remember
http://www.constitutionfacts.com/content/constitution/files/Constitution_DatesToRemember.pdf

The U.S. Constitution & Amendments: The U.S. Constitution
http://www.constitutionfacts.com/content/constitution/files/Constitution_ReadTheConstitution.pdf

Constitution Facts and Quiz
http://www.constitutionfacts.com/?page=quiz.cfm

Special Exhibits on the American Founding
http://www.teachingamericanhistory.org/founding.html

Selected Bibliography

Amar, Akhil Reed. The Bill of Rights: Creation and Reconstruction. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998.

Amar, Akhil Reed, and Alan Hirsch. "For the People" What the Constitution Really About Your Rights. New York: Free Press, 1998.

Bailyn, Bernard, ed. The Debate on the Constitution. New York: Library of America, 1993.

Monk, Linda R. The Words we live by: your annotated guide to the constitution. New York: The Stonesong Press, 2004.