SAN ANTONIO — With six days left to sign up in Bexar County—one woman is trying to reach all eligible voters.
That includes registering voters who may not know they still have that right. The group Radical Registrars hosts civil engagement classes twice a month at the Bexar County Jail.
The co-founder says their goal is to educate people to use their most fundamental right—and it’s surprising to some people they can still use their voice.
On paper, voting may be hard to someone doing it for the first time.
“I want you to know the truth about your eligibility to vote,” Valerie Reiffert is a San Antonio native and co-founder of the Radical Registrars group.
Once somebody gets out of jail and completes their sentence, including parole or probation, it can be hard to adjust back to reality.
“With the population here usually it's black and brown folks and for a very long time, we’re told if you’re a felon, especially if you live in certain areas that you can never vote,” Reiffert said.
But under Texas law—one’s right to vote is automatically restored once their sentence is complete.
A person can be confined in jail but eligible to vote if they have not been ruled mentally incompetent for trial and someone who has not been convicted of a felony.
Reiffert has ran across many people who didn’t know.
“This year I was told a story about someone in their 70s and had a felony in their 20s, how they have never voted in their life, and just found out this year they could register to vote,” Reiffert said.
And in class—she reached another person who can vote.
Reiffert has done the groundwork since 2020 after the protests following George Floyd’s death.
In the class she breaks down political parties, their values, which candidates are up for election and how the process works.
Each of the inmates within the class would engage and ask questions to Reiffert about their eligibility.
“It’s one of the joys of doing this, not only knowing knowledge is power, but it does feel really good removing that barrier from people’s minds and hopefully getting the truth circulating faster than the rumor,” Reiffert says once the women are off papers (or completed their sentence) they can feel empowered to use their voice.
Reiffert will be hosting more classes this month.
You can check out our KENS 5 voter guide to view your voter registration.