Jacie Gonzalez felt excited and a little nervous last Tuesday as she walked with her Rapoport Academy classmates to the vote center next door to participate in her first election.
At 18, she would be the first in her family to cast a vote in a U.S. election.
She thought of her parents, who were still working on their citizenship, and her grandma who recently became a U.S. citizen.
She thought about how gas prices and taxes were affecting lower-income families like hers. She thought about the immigration raids that kept her frightened for the safety of loved ones.
"I really want to be a voice for those people, especially because I am Hispanic," she said. "I am Latina. I want to be their voice. I don't want to be just a voice to myself. I've had the opportunity to do this, so I might as well take it."
With her teenage classmates, she walked into the Waco Multi-Purpose Community Center and prepared to vote her convictions.
Gonzales was among several voting-age students who spent two months learning about the election process in Samuel Wood's U.S. government class at Rapoport Academy's Meyer High School.
"A lot of kids, believe it or not, have a lot to say about politics," Wood told the Waco Bridge and KWBU in October. "They've never been told their voice will matter. And someone needs to."
Wood has taught U.S. history and government classes for four years at the charter school in East Waco. During election years, he invites candidates and party leaders to speak during his unit on elections, provides opportunities to register and walks students to the vote center next door on Election Day.
"I just want them to know that it looks like a normal civic function happening in our society," Wood said.
The election shook up state and federal politics, drawing record numbers of voters including young voters like the ones at Rapoport. In Texas, Democrats will hold a U.S. Senate seat for the first time in nearly four decades and the governorship for the first time since 1995.
But these voters' initiation into the democratic process began weeks earlier, as they researched candidates, issues and electoral processes.
Researching candidates
In early October, students got a chance to talk to local political leaders and from Albert Hunter, a Democrat who challenged Texas Rep. Angelia Orr.. Students asked about their concerns, including rising taxes, gas prices and the environmental impact of data centers.
Students took a quiz on isidewith.com to explore their own political leanings and learned to think critically about bias in campaign ads.
"It's very hard to decipher if you're seeing the truth in those ads or not," Wood said. "They're of course one-sided. The object, to a campaign, is to win so they're doing anything they can to win at all cost."
Students also researched individual candidates and what they stood for.
Justin Bouye, 18, knew he wanted to vote because he grew up listening to his grandmother talk about its importance.
He started his research by reviewing ads for the U.S. senate race. He learned about Republican candidate Ken Paxton's involvement in the plea deal that led to just one day in jail for Adam Hoffman, the Waco attorney accused of child sex assault.
"I was kinda wondering why [Paxton] did that, because that guy did a serious crime," Bouye said. But he saw ads depicting Democrat James Talarico as "being weird."
"I don't really know what side to pick because we both got our problems, both sides, so I don't really know," Bouye said.
Bouye planned to do additional research on candidates and their policies on job growth and safety. He works at H-E-B and hopes to serve in the Navy and get a business degree after graduation.
Sheana Mace, 18, a dual-credit government student who registered and voted with Wood's class, was impressed by Talarico's pledge not to take money from corporate political action committees.
"I feel like everyone is a puppet, and everyone gets paid by big corporations to be put somewhere and do something specifically," Mace said. "I feel like him stating that he's not getting paid to do this, or behind some big conspiracy, stands out."
Mace was also motivated by issues of marijuana and abortion rights.
"We shouldn't be punishing these people for these specific problems going on right now," Mace said. " I feel like people need to stop being so controlling over other people's autonomy."
Ahead of early voting, she planned to do more research on the candidates and where they stood on the issues.
"We are the next generation," Mace said. "We have to start educating ourselves. Like if we wait till it's too late, these people are going to be stuck in office for years and years."
The power of the ballot
Wynton Carlson is a dual-credit government student who wants to study economics and political science in college. He registered in Wood's class, was excited to cast his first ballot in the midterm elections.
"I think politics, whether we like it or not, impacts every aspect of our life, and even putting in the 10 minutes it requires to get the general understanding of each candidate and what they stand for," he said.
Carlson studied his ballot and researched what the candidates stood for. He found himself drawn to Talarico's policies and Christian values.
"I think in an election as close as something like Talarico and Paxton, it's so cool and just awesome to be able to vote and finally have a say in something that I've cared so much about for so long," Carlson said. "It means the world."
At the top of his list of issues was education, including opposition to Texas' voucher program.
Carlson is the son of a Rapoport teacher, and they decided to skip the crowds to vote together during the early voting period, making the 500-foot trip to the multipurpose center to cast their ballots.
"I didn't want to roll the dice on just not being able to vote on that day," he said. "It was cool to see me holding a ballot and knowing this is my voice in my hands."
Carlson remembered years of school dances, band recitals and presentations in the multipurpose center.
"The space does hold some meaning to me," he said. "I've seen all those signs posted up in front … and it's just really cool to finally be a part of that, walk into that space and see it for the first time in that light."
Government at work
On Nov. 3, Wood walked a dozen students from three classes to the vote center. Mace, Gonzalez and Bouye walked with Wood during the fifth period class.
"This is government at work," Wood told the class before waving the voters into the building.
While the students prepared for weeks in class, many were surprised by the actual process of voting - including the length of the ballots they received Tuesday.
"I didn't know it was going to be so many names," Bouye said.
"In my mind it looked different," Gonzalez said. "I'm like "oh, it's like the little bubbles." No, they were like rectangles."
Gonzalez, the first-generation voter, felt uncertain going into the vote center, despite her preparations.
"I'm scared I'm going to mess up," she said. "When I was giving them my ID I was nervous."
She said election workers walked her through the process and she recovered her confidence.
"I feel happy," she said after casting her ballot Tuesday.
She also noticed the bilingual instructions in the voting booth, and thought about her grandmother's reluctance to vote because of her struggle writing and reading English.
"Now that I've seen what it looks like, I can be like, "Hey, if y'all still don't have the English down, there's versions under it where it has it in Spanish. So that could at least help them a bit," Gonzalez said.
Wood had his voting students debrief their younger peers so they'll be prepared when it comes time for them to vote.
And he reminds them about the little things that could keep them from voting, like wearing campaign material to the polls or forgetting to bring a photo ID.
"They've never been told how the process works," he explained.
The moment of truth
Carlson stayed up on election night to watch results coming in, seeing early leads for Talarico and Gina Hinojosa, the Democratic candidate for governor. Still, he thought Gov. Greg Abbott would pull ahead as he did in previous elections.
He was in disbelief as Talarico and Hinojosa declared victory along with Democratic candidates for lieutenant governor and attorney general.
"It was just mind-blowing," Carlson said.
Noting that some races were decided by fewer than three percentage points, he added: "My vote really did have an effect here," Carlson said.
"Something that's so monumental that hasn't happened in Texas for so long to have occurred," he said. "Seeing my voice have an impact on my community and my state, it's so so good to hear and I like being a part of it."
Bouye, who ended up voting for Ken Paxton, was shocked to see him lose. Although Bouye is disappointed his candidate lost, he is hoping to see potential change through Talarico.
"He said he's going to make a change, so we can give him a chance," Bouye said.
Bouye wants to see more job opportunities and support for schools.
He said the experience taught him the importance of making his voice heard, and he plans to vote in the future.
"I feel like it was a good experience," Bouye said. "I feel like actually being able to get a say in it … to be able to know that you can pick somebody you thought was a good example."
Gonzalez was up late working on English homework on election night and was shocked to see the results come in, including when Talarico won the U.S. senate race. She said he hopes he follows through on his promise to investigate immigration raids.
"I don't want to be out there driving and get stopped for who I am," she said.
She was also proud to have helped elect the first Latina governor of Texas.
"It's a step closer to helping younger Latinos to see that anything is possible for us as long as we work hard for it," Gonzalez said.
Mace was proud to be part of the people who helped elect Texas' first Latina governor and its first female lieutenant governor.
"It means everything to me," Mace said.
"I'm proud to be Gen Z and see everyone voting. I really do think it was the youth in Texas that got all these changes made," she added.
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