A February 22nd the front page of the Houston Chronicle had an article Headlined Democratic race attracts early voters in record numbers. The article says that in Harris County alone 50,997 voters — 38,214 Democrats and 12,783 Republicans — have already been to the polls.
That means that within a week the number of early voters far exceeds the total number of early voters from four years ago. And it is not just Harris County, which has broken records. Brazoria County, Fort Bend County, and Galveston County have also registered thousands more voters then in previous elections.
Never have so many voted and never has voting been easier. Most counties promise polling places a maximum of 5 miles from wherever you might be in a given county. The Secretary of States website (http://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/voter/county.shtml) gives a comprehensive list of counties and who in the county to contact in order to find out your polling place.
But, the residents of Prairie View Texas and the students at Prairie View A&M University the list is of little use. Prairie View is in Waller County and there is only one polling place in the County. That one polling place which is a 7.3-mile walk from Prairie View has, according to Matt Ortega’s column on www.democrats.org, has only two voting booths in it. Waller County has a population of over 35,000 people and only 2 voting booths!
The obvious question is why would there be so few polling stations in Waller County? And why would there be not a single polling station within 7 miles of Prairie View where about half the students and a good percentage of the town are registered to vote?
I can not say for sure, but one theory, and it is a theory mentioned on the Prairie View A&M’s website not to mention a number of other places is the percentage of African American’s in Prairie View (26% according to the latest census data) this is to say nothing of the Hispanic population (23%).
Not only is the county made up of more then 50% minorities but also they are well below the average income level, the census data from 2000 shows that the average family in Prairie View mad only $22,000 per year. This compared with a National Average of $45,000.
Children everywhere are taught the importance of voting and yet for children in Prairie View it is a right, which they must still fight for.
On February 19th of this year 2000 people, 1000 students plus another 1000 friends and supporters marched the 7.3 miles to the Waller County polling station to vote. That many students voting at once tied up the polling station all night.
As a result, the Government has agreed to add several more polling stations in the Prairie View area. The problem is that the stations will be open for less then 24 hours.
So what else can be done?
To this end, I have contacted Edrea Davis, an organizor and activist in Prairie View who has promised to send me information on how to help the cause of the town residents and the students in Prairie View.
As soon as I get this information, I will post it to this blog. In the meantime, tell your friends and family what is going on in Waller County. Get them involved, spread the word, and check out future posts to see what else you can do. What is happening in Prairie View can not be tolerated!
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