Rocio Villalobos 
UTRGV – Hidalgo County has a historically low voter turnout compared to other parts of the state, but recent data from the National Study of Learning, Voting and Engagement (NSLVE) shows voting rates of UTRGV students during midterm elections increased by more than 26% from 2014.
“So we went from being below the national average to above the national average by 4 percent,” said Veronica De La Garza, co-chair of Vaqueros Vote and director of Governmental Relations.
De la Garza serves as a co chair of Vaqueros Vote, a nonpartisan coalition of faculty, staff and students working to increase civic participation among the UTRGV community led by the offices of Student Activities and Governmental Relations.
The coalition hosts outreach events throughout the year to encourage students to become politically active.
“We were bringing in Cameron County elections, Hidalgo county elections to create those trainings here on campus, so that way if our students wanted to hold voter registration at their meetings or one of their tailings at their events,” said De La Garza.
According to the NSLVE report, nearly 8,500 more students voted in the 2018 election than in the 2014 election and the rate of students voting between the ages of 18 to 21 more than doubled.
“As we — as a community and as a student body — get more involved it allows us to amplify our voices and whatever issues of concern,” said De La Garza.
She adds that with the U.S. Census nearing, it’s especially important for the community to be civically engaged.
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