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AUSTIN – On Monday, Texas Secretary of State David Whitley visited his alma mater, Alice High School, to address the senior class on the importance of registering to vote and civic engagement. Secretary Whitley shared his experience as a graduate of Alice High School and encouraged seniors to get involved in their local community, starting with registering to vote when they turn 18 years old.

"I want to let all Texas students know that they have a friend in Austin who is making sure they have an opportunity to make their voices heard in their state and in their communities as soon as they become eligible to vote," Secretary Whitley said. "As an alumnus of Alice High School, I was extremely honored to speak with the current generation of students about lessons they can take with them long into the future as they prepare to exercise their most cherished right in our democracy."

Secretary Whitley delivered voter registration forms to Alice High School Principal, Dr. Cidonio Cantu, and visited a history class to speak with juniors about the need to register to vote as soon as they become eligible. Secretary Whitley expressed his desire to see even more high schools around the state instill a culture and tradition of electoral participation among their students.

Click on the image below to view yesterday's report from KIII-TV:

Secretary Whitley also heard directly from students who were encouraged by the visit and who are looking forward to making their voices heard in local, state, and national elections.

"If I have my own opinion and I want to change what's going on in the world right now, I have that opportunity to go out and vote and make that happen," Alice High School student Jacqueline Guerra said.

Click on the image below to watch the report from KZTV-TV:

Last month, Secretary Whitley visited Veterans Memorial Early College High School in Brownsville, Texas to begin a statewide engagement tour visiting with students and administrators to increase voter registration among eligible Texas high school students.

How To Get Involved:

Texas superintendents can get involved by signing a pledge and committing all of their high school principals to fulfill their duties as deputy voter registrars in their respective counties. To sign the pledge, superintendents can visit the Texas Secretary of State's Project V.O.T.E. web page, which includes additional resources for student civic engagement.

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