The Bandera County Democratic Club recently heard from local resident Lynn Brown on ways to engage youth and adults in the political process.
Brown, a retired teacher, and advocate for voter participation spoke to the club in the BEC Community Room on Saturday, Feb. 10, about getting more participation at the polls by young people and their parents.
The Bandera Democratic Club has had many discussions in the past about how to engage younger residents in the political process. Brown led a discussion on how to reach out to the community to register more voters and work to get residents more engaged in the election process, noting most of the active Democrats in the room were senior Texans.
Brown outlined the decline in voter participation and spoke about Sept. 11 being her wakeup call.
She talked about how life in the U.S. has changed due to the end of World War II and how the 1960s and 70s molded young people’s political beliefs.
The main question Brown proposed was, “How do we reach them?”
One member suggested Young Democrat and Young Republican clubs be provided at the High School.
Lynn Oliver, Democratic Party Chair, spoke about getting high school students to become election clerks.
Another suggestion was to sponsor an essay contest for youth to engage them in the election process.
Brown suggested aiding the high school with voter registration and proposed that two non-partisan adults man a table to provide voter information and help seniors register to vote.
She indicated she was going to contact the superintendent to see if that idea would be possible at Bandera High School.
Club President Essie Stewart asked that the club remember Sandy Young, Medina County Democratic Chair. Stewart relayed that Young had attended several Bandera County Club meetings in the past and was now in hospice care.
The treasurer gave a report on club funds, noting no outstanding debts.
Oliver reported on the County Convention on March 23 at the Community Building in Pipe Creek. The County Convention begins at 12:30 p.m. and will elect six delegates to the state convention in El Paso.
A membership committee report asked that the membership rolls be updated. Members can call or text their updated information. This update would help call tree volunteers speak to members and remind members about meetings.
A suggestion was made to send postcards to all registered Democrats in the county. This postcard drive would convey general information about the primary, the election and the Democratic Club. It was posited that good outreach would provide strong lines of communication to the Democratic voters in the County.
In old business, Janus Olive reported that she had added a link on the web page that would be a place for Democrats to express their opinions. Member Jodi Sinclair wanted to know how the website tracked viewers.
President Stewart brought up the idea of changing the meeting place for the club. The membership present agreed that Saturdays were still a good day to have the meeting.
The meeting room at Silver Sage was suggested as an alternative to the BEC Community Room.
The use of Silver Sage would cost the Club $35 for each Saturday meeting.
The Democratic Club meets on the second Saturday of the month with a potluck lunch at 11 a.m. followed by a meeting at noon.
