On Monday, the Texas Democratic Party announced that it will launch the largest voter registration effort in the history of the state.
The 2020 program will involve 1,000 organizers and canvassers on the ground registering voters. The party will also mail out hundreds of thousands of voter registration applications to voters who have not yet registered and create a year-long voter assistance hotline. All of this will be driven machine-learning-based models and dedicated staff from every part of the diverse Democratic coalition.
The party estimates that this year could see up to 18 million registered voters. Their focus is on the 2.6 million Texans who are likely to vote Democratic if they are registered.
“The rapidly emerging Democratic coalition in Texas has set the stage for historic Democratic gains at the ballot box,” Texas Democratic Party Deputy Executive Director Cliff Walker said in a statement. “That’s why the Texas Democratic Party is proud to be launching our most expansive voter registration program yet.”
This effort comes not long after the state party, along with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, filed a lawsuit against the Texas secretary of state for rejecting electronic signatures on registration forms. The state denied thousands of voter registration applications ahead of the 2018 midterms that did not have a “wet” signature.
Texas has historically had very low voter turnout. While that has begun to change with an increase in 2018, Texas still lags behind most other states. With numerous U.S. House seats, the state House, and 38 electoral college votes in play this year, the massive Democratic effort to get more voters register is one part of the broader struggle that is unfolding in the country’s largest battleground state.
Photo: Robert Daemmrich Photography Inc/Corbis via Getty Images
William serves as the Washington Correspondent for the Texas Signal, where he primarily writes about Congress and other federal issues that affect Texas. A graduate of Colorado College, William has worked on Democratic campaigns in Texas, Colorado, and North Carolina. He is an internet meme expert.
