‘If you lose faith, you lose democracy’: UH students reflect on 18th congressional district vote – The Cougar

On Election Day, Nov. 4, voting was held in the Student Center South Space City Room from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Members of the UH community lined up to cast ballots in the special election for the 18th Congressional District, a Houston City Council at-large seat, independent school district trustees and 17 proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution

“For the smaller elections, like this special election, not many people are going to vote,” said accounting junior Hunter Goodwin. “So anybody who can should just vote.”

Goodwin carried a paper with handwritten notes in his pocket — phones are not allowed in the voting booth — on several key propositions.

His concerns were aimed at Proposition 15, which affirms that parents are the primary decision-makers for their children.

“Some of the propositions I felt like needed to be voted against,” Goodwin said. “For codifying parents’ rights, it’s like people could go after books in schools, stuff they teach and LGBTQ+ people, stuff like that.”

Several other issues were on the ballot, and lots of students were cognizant of them.

“Proposition 12 is changing how judges get punished,” said history sophomore Natalie Way. “They’re trying to get it to where they will give the governor more power to appoint the people who review judicial misconduct, rather than how it is now. I’m pre-law, and I think that it should be a board of their peers.”

Way is part of the Lyceum Initiative, a project in the Honors College dedicated to researching the values found in the Declaration of Independence. She said showing up on Election Day was motivated, in part, by her academic pursuits.

“Civic engagement is part of some research that I am part of, so I feel very, very passionately about civic engagement,” Way said. “If you lose faith, you lose the democracy.”

All 17 propositions passed. Harris County saw more than 200,000 ballots cast on Election Day, the second-highest turnout for an odd-year election in 25 years.

“I am just amazed at how many students came out today,” said greeter and Harris County volunteer Margaret Flint. “I’ve been coming here for two years, and I’ve never seen this many people at your age. A lot of the staff have come by, and they’re very happy to see all the students that are here.”

Flint, who provided sheets for voters to jot down notes before entering the voting booth, said people from all walks of life turned out to vote.

“It’s just a joy,” Flint said. “I love sitting here talking to the students, and one person told me they had to come back after they get out from work at 6:45. I said, ‘We’ll take you if you’re coming at 6:59’.”

Exercise science and kinesiology senior Olivia Broadens stood in line with a friend around midafternoon. She said her time in the military reinforced her belief in service and civic engagement.

“There’ve been points of turmoil in the past, and I don’t know if they’ve necessarily been comparable to our current circumstance, but just going back into America’s history, we’re representative of the people,” Broadens said. “That’s the way that we were founded, and I still believe those values hold true. I don’t necessarily believe that our current situation represents those values in some ways, but I believe there’s always a path back to that.”

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