Voters in Harris County have the opportunity to interact with candidates up for election in November during a virtual event to be held Oct. 15, an organizer confirmed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The gist<\/p>\n
Eighteen candidates running for state, county and judicial seats are slated to participate in a virtual open house, during which voters can listen to and talk with the candidates seeking election Nov. 3. Early voting for the general election begins Oct. 19.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Howard University Alumni Club of Houston, or HUAC-Houston, is partnering with the Urban League of Texas, Houston Area Urban League, CAIR Texas, CAIR Action, LULAC Council 60 and the Greater Houston Coalition for Justice to host the event, according to a press release.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Eighteen candidates are expected to participate, HUAC-Houston President Cris Wright told Community Impact. The candidates include:\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dana De Van Walker, running for Texas State Board of Education<\/p>\n
Gene Wu, running for Texas House District 137<\/p>\n
Letitia Plummer, running for Harris County Judge<\/p>\n
In a statement, Wright said the event is intended to help voters stay civically engaged.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are busy. People are tired. And plenty of intelligent people will tell you, \u2018I don\u2019t do politics.\u2019 Really, they don\u2019t understand it, nor do they have the capacity to jump through hoops to gain understanding,\u201d Wright said.<\/p>\n
All candidates running for election in Harris County have been invited, per the release, without participation fees, fundraising requirements, endorsements or ideological screenings.<\/p>\n
The details<\/p>\n
Before the conversations begin, participants can learn about each office through a \u201cquick Civics 101 introduction,\u201d according to the event overview<\/a>.<\/p>\n The event is designed to \u201ccreate the comfort and connection of gathering in someone\u2019s home,\u201d per the release.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSomebody may not drive across town after work for an in-person forum,\u201d Wright said. \u201cBut they might click a link while cooking\u2014or ordering\u2014dinner to have a quick chat.\u201d<\/p>\n Participants will be able to move between conversations, with the opportunity to ask questions directly, according to the release. The event is free and open to the public.\u00a0<\/p>\n Oct. 15, 6-8:30 p.m.<\/p>\n