Hey Denton, Go Vote
Only 4% of Denton residents participated in early voting this year. Local election day is Saturday, May 6 and polls will be open from 7 AM - 7 PM. You're probably tired of seeing people in your timeline telling you to go vote, and we understand. It can be exhausting to not understand the privilege of choosing not to vote. Alas, it is important. Really important. Especially for young people.
Why is it so important for young people? Besides exercising your civic duty, there is a tax freeze proposition on your ballot that does not benefit anyone under the age of 65, which is most likely you. (Read more about this nothing burger further down.) Voter turnout in District 3, a district that has more than 3,000 elderly homeowners who would benefit from the tax freeze, is making up 41% of total voters in Denton so far.
All that said, we've got you covered on where to go, what you need, and how you can learn more about everything on your ballot. Stay tuned to our blog & twitter on Saturday evening for election results.
Are You Registered?
It only takes a couple minutes to check. Go to this website, choose your selection criteria, fill in your information, & hit submit. This will pull up your voter information. If the Voter Status row says "ACTIVE" - you are good to go. If you Voter Status says "SUSPENDED" that means you have outdated information, but you can still vote.
What Do You Need to Bring With You to Vote?
You do not need your voter registration card. You must bring one of the following seven forms of ID listed below:
Texas driver license issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS)
Election Identification Certificate issued by Texas DPS
Personal identification card issued by Texas DPS
License to carry a handgun issued by Texas DPS
U.S. military identification card containing the person’s photograph
U.S. citizenship certificate containing the person’s photograph
U.S. passport
If you do not have one of the above-listed forms of ID, you can bring one of the following items listed below and fill out and sign a simple statement (available at the polling location).
Valid voter registration certificate
Certified birth certificate
current utility bill
bank statement
government check
paycheck
any other government document that displays your voter's name and an address
Where Do You Vote on Saturday?
You must vote in your precinct. You can find your precinct on the voter Information on the Are You Registered? page or you can find out at Vote Denton. Once you find your precinct number you can look up your voting location via this PDF that Vote Denton has put together.
What's On Your Ballot?
Depending on what district you live in (pro tip: find out here), you'll have the opportunity to vote for a Denton City Council member. In addition to that, Denton residents can vote on school board members and Prop 1.
School Board Candidates
You can learn more about the school board candidates by watching our coverage from the Denton League of Women Voter's Forum.
City Council Candidates
We've been keeping up with the Denton City Council hopefuls since the beginning of the year. We've gotten to profile most of them (perks of being a volunteer ran publication), executed a day-long voter registration campaign called Are You Ready?, we hosted our own debate, and we live streamed two others. (Check out the second video for city council candidate's answers on working toward a cite & release policy.)
Proposition 1
Proposition 1 is an irreversible tax freeze that will allow elderly homeowners to receive additional tax credits for their homes. These tax burdens will lay on other homeowners, business owners, and young people. If you plan on living in Denton or owning a business here, you should look further into this proposition.
Bob Bland is a senior citizen, homeowner, and resident who would benefit from such tax freeze yet strongly disagrees with it. "It means higher property taxes for those homeowners who are less than 65 and for all business owners," Bland writes in the Denton Record-Chronicle.
But for real, GO VOTE
If you've read this far and still haven't voted, what are you waiting for? Do it, dudes, Don't like the candidates this year? Start planning your campaign now. Be the change, Denton.
Header image design by Christopher Rodgers