“It’s very important for us to just show a message and actually show that we never give up no matter the circumstance,” said Emmanuel Hernandez.
ARLINGTON, Texas — Students at the University of Texas at Arlington are finding new ways to cast their ballots after Tarrant County eliminated the campus polling location and 91 other voting sites.
For more than a decade, students had been able to vote in local and national elections at the Maverick Activities Center. The site drew more than 8,000 votes during the last presidential election.
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Its removal has frustrated some students.
“For it to be stripped away from us, after the attempts we’ve made to try to get it back, it felt kind of like a betrayal honestly,” said Tyler Young, a UTA sophomore.
In response, the Victory Coalition offered students free rides Wednesday in a church van to the Tarrant County sub-courthouse, about a mile from campus. The location is the nearest polling place for students.
“It seems like it was done on purpose,” said Ty Mayes of the Victory Coalition. “So, we made sure these rides were actually available on purpose so that their vote can continue to be heard.”
Other students organized a march to draw attention to the change. Several dozen gathered outside the university’s student center late Wednesday afternoon before walking north on Oak Street and east on Abrams Street to the sub-courthouse to vote.
Emmanuel Hernandez, a UTA junior majoring in public relations and one of the march’s organizers, said the demonstration was intended to show students’ determination.
“Because I think it’s very important for us to just show a message and actually show that we never give up no matter the circumstance,” Hernandez said.
UTA’s Mav Mover buses also provide transportation to and from polling locations. Students plan to hold another march on the final day of early voting.
Despite losing their on-campus polling site, students say they intend to make their votes count just as much as before.