ACC Students Encourage Voting

Press Conference: ACC students encourage voting

Friday, April 25, 10 a.m., Rio Grande Campus

Austin, TX – April 22, 2008 – ACC’s Center for Public Policy and Political Studies (CPPPS) encourages its students to get involved in government as part of their education. Representatives of ACC’s Student Government Association and the student-run voter registration program, Active ’08, are taking that mission to heart … and to the streets. The ACC students will join former Austin mayor Bruce Todd for a press conference April 25 at 10 a.m. in front of the Rio Grande Campus that will highlight the need for Austinites to vote on May 10. A recent CPPPS report on voter turnout in Austin city elections revealed that for the past 35 years less than a quarter of the of the Austin population that is registered to vote actually do vote in city elections. An average of approximately 60,000 people have voted in Austin elections for 35 years, meaning only 15 percent of all registered voters are making decisions for hundreds of thousands of people.

“Those numbers are disappointing because so few people are speaking for everyone else in Austin,” said Peck Young, Director of the ACC Center for Public Policy & Political Studies. “It does not represent the democratic process very well.”

The ACC students actively involved in the vote campaign believe it’s important to vote because everyone’s voice matters in issues important to their lives. The results of the May 10 election could have an impact on Austin for years to come, including how taxes will be spent, what will be done to improve Austin schools, who will lead ACC, how traffic congestion will be eased, and what will be done to protect the environment.

The news conference participants will also be using this opportunity to encourage young voters to get involved in the political process, encouraging them to vote in this and future elections.

This entry was posted on 04/21/2008 and is filed under the Official ACC Press Releases category or categories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Please leave a response, or trackback from your own site.