YOU COUNT

I'm Back

2010-06-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

Hello All,

You all have been working very hard. Since the kickoff for the Challenge 10,000 started on Mar 12, 2010 there have been 3,587 new registration between the ages 18-25. Good work!!!
We have been averaging 894 a month. We only have a few more months to go as October 4, 2010 will be our end date for the Challenge 10,000.

If you have scheduled an event for that will be happening before October 4, please send an announcement to the blog so, we can talk it up.

Allandale July 4th Parade @ Gullet Elementary School 9:00 AM on Sunday

Good to be back,

Thanks for all the phone calls of concern.

Kudos and Reminder

2010-05-04T10:34:00.000-07:00

Good Day All,

We have had some pretty busy deputies out in the county. ACC Center for Student Political Studies held a successful event on April 22, from 5:30-8:30, at the ACC EastView Campus. ACC Men of Distinction held another successful event on April 26th, at the ACC EastView Campus while partnering with other local Universities. UTVotes which is being organized by Dana Campos is getting revved up for the upcoming elections. Anyone wanting to partner with Dana please send her and email at campos.dana@gmail.com.

Welcome to Russell's Bakery on Hancock Dr., Ventana del Sol on E. Oltorf and Goodwill Industries of Central Texas on Norwood Park Blvd. These 3 business have joined our substations list making voter registration application available at their place of business. Thank you for supporting Travis County.

Reminder to all volunteer deputies. Your volunteer deputy applications cannot be mailed in to the office they must be hand delivered to any of the locations listed below.

Main Location
5501 Airport Boulevard
Austin, TX 78751-1410

Southeast near Austin-Bergstrom Airport
4011 McKinney Falls Pkwy
Austin, Texas 78744-4103

East Austin: (Springdale at MLK)
4705 Heflin Lane
Austin, Texas 78721-1521

Pflugerville
15822 Foothill Farms Loop
Pflugerville, Texas 78660-3422

Oak Hill
8656 Hwy 71W
Building B, Suite 200
Austin, Texas 78735-8075

2010-04-14T11:25:00.000-07:00

Hello VDR's

You would not believe the good time I had at the Allandale Neighborhood Association Picnic on Sunday at Northwest Park. Yes, at first it was a little wet but, the rain (sprinkles) stopped and the picnic was on. HEB was in attendance with chicken fajitas, cake, bananas, apples, soda, pita chips and spinach dip. WOW! was that stuff good. There was a clown that did face painting and a balloon man that could make anything from balloons. Music, bake good by Russell's Bakery and so much more. We were able to register quite a few people that had just moved into Travis County. All in all you missed a good time if you didn't make it.

Many Thanks to Donna Beth for the invite.

Allandale Picnic

2010-04-07T06:11:00.000-07:00

How is it going VDR's ? I hope everyone is out there registering folks and having a good time doing it? I am going to be at the Allandale Picnic at the Northwest Park on Sunday from 2-6 PM. This is a fun picnic so come on out and lets help Mary Beth register some folks. Hope to see ya there!

2010-04-05T08:16:00.000-07:00

We have registered 892 new voters between the ages 18-25 as of March 29,2010 Keep up the good work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MediaReleaseC10K

2010-03-30T13:15:00.001-07:00

www.traviscountytax.org

(512) 854-9473

Nelda Wells Spears Main Office: 5501 Airport Blvd.

Travis County Tax Assessor-Collector Austin, TX 78751-1410

& Voter Registrar

Satellite Offices: 4011 McKinney Falls Pky.

15822 Foothill Farms Loop Pflugerville

8656 Highway 71 W Oak Hill

4705 Heflin Lane

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 13, 2010

COUNTY SEEKS TO REGISTER THOSE AGE 18 – 25:

CHALLENGE 10,000!

Austin, Texas----Only 29% of young Travis County citizens age 18 – 25 are registered to vote and officials aim to change that fact starting today. “Challenge 10,000” seeks to collaborate with individuals and groups for the purpose of increasing voter registration among young adults. The goal is 10,000 new voters by October 4, 2010 which is the deadline to register for voting in the November election. The low rate among young adults stands in stark contrast to the overall voter registration rate for Travis County: 95%.

“I encourage all young adults to register and vote, and to make sure their friends do the same,” said Nelda Wells Spears, Voter Registrar. “Voter registration connects the individual to government decision making in a unique way; I believe young voters desire equal participation but need encouragement to get registered and vote.”

Over the next six months, several voter registration drives associated with festivals and other events will target young adults. Other efforts will focus on institutionalizing voter registration in organizations and places popular with young adults.

Challenge 10,000 invites all to download a PARTICIPATION KIT from www.traviscountytax.org/goVotersVDR.do Participants can increase their effectiveness as volunteers by signing up as a Volunteer Deputy Registrar or VDR.

VDRs receive training to register a citizen to vote and accept the application on behalf of the Voter Registrar. VDRs increase effectiveness by catching errors and making sure the application gets to the voter registrar’s office quickly.

Applying to be a voter requires citizenship, age 18, residency in Travis County and a driver’s license or social security number. Applications are on display throughout the county at many post offices, public libraries, grocery stores and online at www.traviscountytax.org . Upon receipt of a completed application, the voter receives a voter certificate by mail within 30 days.

Voters who believe they have registered but are unsure may check their voter registration status online at www.traviscountytax.org The most common error, an outdated residence address, can be corrected easily online if the move was within Travis County at https://www.texasonline.state.tx.us/tolapp/sos/SOSACManager

Others may update address, name or any other part of the voter record by simply completing an application.

For assistance with the Challenge 10,000 effort or any other question regarding voter registration, contact the help line at 854-9473 or click on www.traviscountytax.org

FACT SHEET

1. # OF REGISTERED VOTERS IN TRAVIS COUNTY = 587,151

2. # OF REGISTERED VOTERS IN TRAVIS COUNTY AGE 18 – 25 = 78,885

3. # OF VOLUNTEER DEPUTY REGISTRARS IN TRAVIS COUNTY = 788

4. EVENTS SCHEDULED FOR VOTER DRIVES:

· Galindo Health Fair / Galindo Elementary March 26, 2010

· St. James 5K Run / March 27, 2010

· Turfcats Home Opener / April 12, 2010

· Cinco de Mayo Celebration / Univision / May 2, 2010

· Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Celebration / May 14, 2010

5. PARTICIPANTS IN CHALLENGE 10,000:

· AnotherOptionProduction

· UTVotes

· Organizing for America

· Austin Community College Men of Distinction

Challenge 10,000 Update

2010-03-30T08:09:00.000-07:00

Hello All,

It has been 18 days since the kick-off event on March 12th. As of March 29th we now have 892 new registered voters. Wow is that good or what. I think Constable Elfant is correct in his prediction of 20,000 we will see. For now lets just keep those applications flowing.

This is the next PSA for release.

2010-03-24T05:39:00.000-07:00

Move the Vote PSA

2010-03-18T07:06:00.000-07:00

This is one of our Public Service Announcement for Voter Registration check it out!

2010-03-16T07:57:00.001-07:00

Hello All,

The Challenge 10,000 Kickoff was a great! We had a total of 20 organizations to signup and take the Challenge. If you know someone else that is interested in taking the Challenge but, was unable to attend Friday please send them to http://www.traviscountytax.org/goVotersVDR.do
to download the Challenge 10,000 kit and view pictures from March 12,2010.

I also wanted to Thank all of the organizationa and Volunteer Deputy Registrar's that came out to the event. We can not have an impact without you. Please know what you do is very important to Travis County.

Thanks for coming and keep up the hard work

Cheryl

Update on Challenge 10,000

2010-03-05T08:26:00.000-08:00

Voter Registrar Challenge 10,000 Kickoff Event
March 12, 2010 at 2:00 PM

5501 Airport Blvd Austin Texas 78751

Challenge begins: March 12, 2010

Challenge ends: October 4, 2010

Thanks to legislative efforts that promote voter registration in Texas, as well as the efforts of many local volunteers and groups, Travis County enjoys a very high rate of voter registration: 95%. Despite the overall high rate, citizens between the ages of 18 and 25 typically register in lower numbers than all other portions of the eligible voter population and therefore, do not vote.
Over the next six months the Travis County Voter Registrar and its volunteers will be targeting 10,000 young adults to join the ranks of Travis County registered voters. The Voter Registrar will also be asking community organizations, elected city and county officials, teachers and mentors to participate in the challenge. In early October of this year, the success of our “Challenge 10,000” initiative will be measured by comparing today’s rate among young voters (71%) to a rate that we anticipate will more closely resemble the overall rate for Travis County (95%).

All Organizations that would like to take the challenge on March 12 are invited to the Travis County Tax Office to be part of the press conference. Please feel free to wear organization shirts or bring poster
The most important goal of Challenge 10,000 involves voter awareness for all citizens, but especially those between the ages of 18 and 25. If you are a registered voter here’s what you can do to help promote this effort:

- Signup as an individual or an organization at the Travis County Tax Office and commit to the Challenge 10,000 effort.
- Check your voter registration status by clicking on http://www.traviscountytax.org/ or by calling 854-9473. Make sure all of your information is correct and up to date. Once you know how easy it is to check, you can help someone else!
- Ask the people around you, especially those who are 18 – 25, if they need assistance with voter registration, then help them or refer them to the Voter Registration helpline: 854-9473.
- Volunteer your time to register voters as a Volunteer Deputy Registrar. Contact Cheryl Reese at 854-9473 extension 33284 or Cheryl.Reese@co.travis.tx.us to get started!
More
http://www.traviscountytax.org/

2010-02-20T10:12:00.000-08:00

Have you heard about the Challenge 10,000? I hear it's coming to Austin Texas, Travis County.