What do we do?
TX Votes is a nonpartisan, non-advocacy civic engagement organization that fosters a robust culture of democratic participation at the University of Texas at Austin. Our collaborative and service-oriented approach to civic engagement encourages students, faculty, and staff to vote, volunteer, advocate for causes they value, and be engaged citizens.
TX Votes is made up of students majoring in a wide array of degrees from Biology, English, Computer Science, Government, Political Communication to Studio Art. We are nonpartisan, so we will never tell you who or what to vote for -- just that you should vote!
LEADERSHIP
President
Scott Poole
Vice President
Jillian Hester
Chief VDR
Vincent Tomasetti
CEA Chair
Johnathan Sicard
Program Coordinator
Cole Wilson
Program Coordinator
Krista Gehlhausen
Vice CEA Chair
Ellie Nicholson
COMMITTEES
Research
Committee Chair: Kishlaya Rastogi
Committee Chair: Sebastian Bourbon
The Research Committee is working to develop research that answers questions of what influences students to vote and what barriers stand in the way of student voters.
Events
Committee Chair: Lucas Barr
Committee Chair: Luke Sumpter
The Events Committee planning events for TX Votes, including events like the Last Night to Register to Vote Celebration, Election Night Watch Parties, Vote Early Day, socials for TX Votes members, and diverse and informative panels.
STEM
Committee Chair: Hillary Xu
Junior Chair: Katelyn Hawkins
The STEM Committee is committed to encouraging UT Austin STEM students, who have historically voted at lower rates than the rest of campus, to turn out to vote through voter registration activities and educational activities related to the intersection of political participation and STEM.
Digital
Committee Chair: Asha Ayyar
Committee Chair: Aaron Lurin
The Digital Committee works to reach students in a digital manner to ensure they know about elections and have access to important election information. They have worked on the Election Care Packages, designed and developed a new website for TX Votes, created an educational civics newsletter, and curated a multilingual voting video library.
Nonpartisanship
The Nonpartisanship Committee acts as a guiding council when issues of partisanship arise in the organization and guides students when they aren't sure how to answer questions about partisanship.
Fundraising
Committee Chairs: Marissa Engert
The Fundraising Committee raises money for TX Votes through off and on-campus grants, Hornraiser, 40 for Forty, and t-shirt sales.
Awards
2019 Outstanding Student Organization Tower Award Recipient
2018 Voter Friendly Campus Designation
2017 Outstanding Student Organization Tower Award Recipient
2016 Voter Friendly Campus Designation
2016 ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge Bronze Seal Award