College voters held back by Texas election law, lack of on-campus polling sites

Students walk past signs promoting early voting at the University of Texas at El Paso on Tuesday. (Credit: Paul Ratje for The Texas Tribune)

Jay Guillory was too busy trying to get Texas A&M University-Commerce students registered to vote to even think about whether he would cast his own ballot early or on Election Day. As the school’s assistant director of leadership and service, he spent weeks helping with registration drives at busy campus spots.

But Guillory knows registering voters is just half the battle. Hunt County in North Texas has only one early-voting location for the Nov. 8 midterm — and it’s more than 14 miles away from A&M-Commerce’s campus. The closest Election Day polling location is half a mile away. He says the distant polling locations pose a major challenge to students, especially those who don’t have cars.