Thousands March in Prairie View for Voting Rights

On February 20, 2008, Helen Eriksen of the Houston Chronicle reports Thousands March in Prairie View for Voting Rights.

Texas A&M Prairie View is a predominately African American university in Waller County, out in the middle of rural Texas. Students became upset when Waller County decided to open only one early voting location for the March 4 primary at the Waller County Courthouse, seven miles from campus.

This story requires history to understand why the students were so upset. In the 2004 election, Prairie View made the news with complaints about voting rights when Oliver Kitzman, then the Waller County district attorney, threatened to prosecute any students using their school address to register to vote, claiming residency violations. While the Supreme Court ruled decades earlier that in most cases students could register where they went to school, Kitzman was allegedly motivated more by racism and disregarded that ruling. After the US Justice Department became involved to correct the situation, he resigned. You can read more about this in this reprinted LA Times article. Kitzman comes across like one of those over-stereotyped Texas good ol' boys. It's almost humorous. In a bizarre ugly way.

This year, the Justice Department was quick to intervene and highly suggested the county rethink their decision. The county claimed it did not have the resources for more polling places, but ended up finding funds for three more places for voters to cast an early ballot. One of them is a mile from campus.

The students apparently were still upset that there was not a place to vote on campus. The news of the added closer polling location may not have been widely known among the students. For the general election, they will vote on campus.

While history indicates that racism does seem to be a problem in Waller County, with many complaints being filed in 2004 and again after the 2006 general election for various voting irregularities, along with many other non-voting related civil liberty issues, are the students over-reacting? If it was just over the distance to where they vote, absolutely. They go to school out in the middle of nowhere. That’s what rural is – you have to go anywhere else to be someplace. But in this county, it’s bringing awareness to not necessarily this small “seven mile” problem, but a problem that is affecting many colleges and universities.

From The Nation in 2004:

“Despite a 1979 Supreme Court ruling affirming their right to vote where they attend school, students often encounter difficulties when they try to exercise that right. A recent Harvard survey of 249 colleges and universities found that more than one-third weren't complying with the law requiring them to help students register and vote. What's more, local and state officials have tried to prevent students from registering or voting at William and Mary, the University of New Hampshire, Skidmore, Hamilton and Henderson State University in Arkansas, among others.”

In the end, ironically, the attempts of the white leaders of Waller County to keep minority students from voting have completely backfired, motivating more students to be involved in the political process than might have been otherwise and raising awareness of an issue affecting students and minorities across the country.