The Barbara Jordan Leadership Institute, a nonpartisan student-led organization, is helping students register to vote and emphasizing the importance of voting and creating leaders.
The campus organization has chapters across Texas. It was named after U.S. representative Barbara Jordan, who was the first Black woman from a southern state to be elected.
“We are a non-profit organization that strives to educate both students and faculty on the importance of knowing their rights, like voting, freedom of speech, etc.,” Taylon Leblanc, BJLI president, said.
The organization was founded through LU’s political science department in 2024, becoming more official this year, Regori McGill, BJLI vice president and political science major, said.
“(The political science department) were trying to just bring an organization that informs students and informed others on just what’s going on,” she said. “And I love to do that. I love to talk to people. I love to connect with others. As much as I love learning about the law, I think everybody else should learn about the law. So, I felt like it was a perfect fit.”
McGill said BJLI plans on reaching out to more students.
“I feel like with our campus, the size of our campus and how tight other organizations are, I do think that we can spread word of mouth, as well as social media,” she said.
BJLI hosts events throughout the year, such as registering students to vote.
“It’s pretty simple,” McGill said. “It’s basically the standard table setup. It kind of just gets into more detail when you’re trying to register a student.”
The group also visits high schools. McGill said if they get someone who is not eligible to register, they try to inform them of the steps to take to register when it’s possible.
McGill said that, according to data, only 50% of people are aware that there are three branches of government.
“The goal is to have more people understand what’s going on,” McGill said. “So, we want to keep that number above 50% and growing — and start young.”
McGill said it is important to reach out to high school students as the quicker voting information is introduced, the more information students retain.
“Not many people are registered when they want to start voting,” McGill said. “So, when they put in that first ballot, it’s a provisional ballot, so it’s not counted.”
Leblanc said the group also emphasizes the importance of voting in local elections.
“They think just because it’s a city or statewide election, that it doesn’t hold weight,” he said. “But in all honesty, this is the most important, because this is the closest to your home.”
Redistricting bills in several states, including Texas, affect representation, McGill said. In Texas, HB 4 introduced PLANC2333, a new redistricting map for the state, which passed in an 18-8 vote. The bill changed several congressional districts that previously had minority representation. Louisiana v. Callais is a pending U.S. Supreme Court case also involving redistricting maps.
McGill and Leblanc were present at one of the hearings for the case in Washington, D.C.
“I did not know exactly what the details of the case were,” McGill said. “But to find out that this map, and this court case specifically, put the Voting Rights Act in a gray area, was mind-blowing.”
Leblanc said he wants people to know their voice is being heard.
“I hope that they walk away knowing that they are heard, and that their voice is really important and powerful,” he said. “No matter what anybody may tell you, you matter.”
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