The Texas midterm elections are today, and early voting ran from Oct. 19 to Oct. 30. Many students have already voted at polling sites on campus, including the Texas Union and the LBJ School of Public Affairs library. In this episode of “People of UT,” General Audio Staffer Isabelle Grace Ballard spoke with Jacob Hammett, the chief volunteer deputy registrar for TX Votes and international relations and global studies, and economics junior, as he explained more about the organization’s position and role on campus.
Narrated and edited by Isabelle Grace Ballard. Cover photo courtesy of Jacob Hammett. Music by Blue Dot Sessions.
Ballard: You may have heard someone come into your classroom to give you a spiel about voting that sounded something like this…
Hammett: TX Votes: We’re a nonpartisan, nonadvocacy organization here on campus, which means we won’t tell you who to vote for or what to vote for, just to go out there and have your voices be heard.
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Ballard: Many students have already voted at the polling sites on campus, including the (Texas) Union and the LBJ School of Public Affairs library. My name is Isabelle Grace Ballard and I am a general audio reporter for The Daily Texan. In this episode of “People of UT,” I spoke with Jacob Hammett, who is the chief (volunteer deputy registrar) for TX Votes, as he explained more about the organization’s position and role on campus.
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Ballard: TX Votes is a student organization at UT that focuses on encouraging students to get out and vote. A VDR is a volunteer deputy registrar. They are appointed by the county and that allows them to register people to vote.
Hammett: My job, basically, is to schedule classroom presentations, schedule tabling times, just making sure all that is covered, um, and making sure we can have the best outreach to our community.
Ballard: Being a double major in international relations and global studies, and economics, Hammett decided to join TX Votes because he wanted to make an impact. Ultimately, this is what enticed him.
Hammett: Coming to college, you know, trying to find organizations to be a part of, ways to make a difference. … So I started off being with the marching band and during my freshman orientation, I ran into the TX Votes table. You know, they’re giving me the whole spiel we give every classroom presentation. … It’s the volunteer aspect of it. Really giving back to your community, not expecting anything in return, but slowly making the world a better place.
Ballard: Hammett said this semester, the (organization) had about 170 classroom presentations. Hammett remarked on previous years how much it changes.
Hammett: It definitely changes every year. Last year, specifically, we didn’t have too much of one. I mean, it wasn’t a midterm, it wasn’t a president election. So that being said, this year, we’ve definitely hit a big number, and I think this current election cycle has really hit strong with UT-Austin students for multiple reasons. So I really feel like that led to teachers realizing, ‘Hey, we need to make sure students have the access to this.’ Also, just media in general; I feel like this election cycle is really popular in the media right now.
Ballard: In discussing how different elections impact their presentations in classrooms, Hammett expanded on how UT voting habits change depending on each election.
Hammett: It kind of follows a similar pattern to the national level. I mean, we have really big turnout during presidential years, kind of smaller ones during midterms, and then when it’s not that, pretty, pretty small. Compared to a lot of other places, UT does vote quite frequently, that’s great to hear.
Ballard: When prompted to explain how TX Votes members interact with people who want to talk about specifics, here is what Hammett said.
Hammett: When we’re doing anything affiliated with TX Votes, even if I’m wearing the shirt, I’m like, I’m so sorry, I can’t really talk to you about that. There’s several times when people come to the table, just kind of start saying their opinion, which is perfectly fine. Love to hear it. Just, of course, respond back, ‘I am nonpartisan currently.’ Obviously, I have my own political beliefs. I do, and I can talk to that, but amongst my friends and all that. But any moment that someone is in a TX Votes uniform or behind a table or giving a classroom presentation, they should not know.
Ballard: Some citizens pay little to no attention on elections that aren’t presidential ones. Hammett clarified why this upcoming midterm has a lot of weight.
Hammett: These midterms include basically every major position that’s not the presidency when you think about it. I mean, it’s the Senate position in Texas. There’s a bunch of House positions, some local ones. … Basically, almost every level of government, it kind of covers and hits that on national and state level. … But, it’s super important to know who shares your beliefs and who you want to see represent you in the upcoming year.
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Ballard: This is a production of The Daily Texan Audio Department. To listen to more podcasts, check out The Daily Texan Audio on your streaming platform of choice, or our website, thedailytexan.com. To learn more about candidates and inform yourself as a voter, Hammett suggests students go to the website vote411.org. Thank you for listening.
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