Texas is not a red or a blue state – it’s a voter suppressed state.

Addressing the Voter Access Gap

The Texas Voter Project (TVP) was established in 2022 by Sophia DeLoretto-Chudy, who relocated to Texas from Oregon and experienced her first local election as a new resident. Having grown up in a state where voters are automatically registered at the DMV, receive ballots by mail, and are provided with a non-partisan voter guide weeks before the election, Sophia was surprised to discover that none of these facets existed in Texas. Her interest in voter turnout, especially among young people—a focus of her undergraduate thesis—led her to investigate the low participation rates of youth voters in her new home state. She found that information access gaps were a key barrier, hindering young voters from participating at the same levels as their older counterparts.

Sophia's hypothesis is simple: providing non-partisan voter guides in a low-turnout state like Texas could help close the information access gap and increase voter turnout among the over 30% of the population under the age of 35. This effort marked the beginning of the Texas Voter Project, with Travis County serving as the initial area of research to evaluate the impact of non-partisan election information.

Enhancing Voter Turnout Through Information

The main objective of the Texas Voter Project is to increase voter turnout among young people in Travis County, Texas, by closing the information access gap. In 2020, voter turnout in this demographic stood at just 51%. By distributing comprehensive non-partisan voter guides—featuring basic election information in both English and Spanish—the TVP aims to make informed voting more accessible. This initiative reflects a broader ambition to replicate the project across more counties in Texas and eventually expand statewide.

Through outcomes observed by the creation and distribution of voter guides already utilized in other states, the TVP believes that informed voter turnout among young people will increase significantly. The total cost of implementing the TVP project in Travis County is $550,000, and the support of like-minded investors and stakeholders is crucial to completing the necessary funding to achieve this goal.

Understanding the Texas Voter Landscape

Texas is home to the third largest populations of young people in the nation, with a median age of 34, which is notably younger than the national median. This demographic has the potential to shape the outcome of both local and national elections. However, during the recent 2022 midterms, only 49% of registered voters between 18 and 24 participated, while only 39.6% of young and newly eligible Texans were even registered to vote. 

Texas’ numerous barriers to registration and participation create significant obstacles for young voters. Understanding the impact of nonpartisan voter education tools is crucial to achieving the goals of increasing turnout especially among newly registered and low propensity young voters. 

The TVP seeks to challenge the narrative that “young people are apathetic about voting” by providing the necessary tools and information to encourage them to participate in democracy.

A Research-Driven Approach

The Texas Voter Project is primarily a research initiative aimed at understanding the impact of non-partisan voter education tools on youth voter turnout. The overarching goal is to increase voter turnout among young Texans to 100%. To achieve this, the TVP will distribute approximately 400,000 non-partisan voter guides to 18- to 35-year-olds in Travis County, with the goal of recording 300,000 visits to the project’s online candidate information page.

Fiscal Sponsorship

The Goodnation Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, serves as the fiscal sponsor for the Texas Voter Project, providing fiduciary oversight, financial management, and support to advance the project’s mission.

Strengthening Democracy

The Texas Voter Project is an innovative initiative aimed at addressing the information gap among young voters in Texas. By supporting this project, you can play a crucial role in increasing youth voter turnout and strengthening our democracy. We believe that with your support, we can achieve remarkable outcomes that will benefit the community and create lasting positive change for our country.

For more information or to discuss potential collaboration, please contact us at info@texasvoterproject.org. Help us spread the word by sharing our website www.TexasVoterProject.org.