At 18 years old, Sean Williams walked into a polling location in Houston and immediately noticed something.
“What I saw inside is a generation, about one or two generations ahead of mine, which is a really bad problem,” said Williams, a freshman political science major at Texas Southern University, voting for the first time. “It’s very essential for people my age … to come out and vote because it is essential and it does affect you even though you might not see or feel it.”
For many Houstonians like Williams, this primary election was a call to action.
It was amplified by campus organizations and voting rights groups determined to turn out Black voters across Houston during the March primaries, which would send their preferred candidates to the November general election races.
At doorsteps, in churches, at community meetings, and on college campuses, Get Out the Vote (GOTV) campaigns have blanketed historically Black neighborhoods, urging residents to turn out at the ballot box.
Record-breaking early turnout
Data from the Harris County Clerk’s Office shows significant early voting activity.
According to the March 3, 2026 Primary Election Daily Record of Early Voting Check-ins, the total number of early in-person voters reached 333,012, with 13,785 mail ballots returned.
Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth said the first day of early voting broke records on both the Republican and Democratic sides, exceeding previous primary and midterm benchmarks.
“That tells us that voters are engaged, they know how they want to vote, and that they want their voices to be heard in this election cycle,” Hudspeth said.
She attributed the turnout to major contested races at the state and local levels and foresees races heading into runoffs in late May.
“What’s going on in the country obviously has a lot to do with why voters have turned out,” Hudspeth added. “Mainly, on both sides of the aisle for this primary, you have major contested races, all the way from state-wide races like U.S. Senate, governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, down the ballot to some of the most local elections like Congressional District 18 and county attorney.”
Hudspeth also noted an increase in first-time voters, saying that between undecided and new voters, they “could very well be some great factors of the actual outcome”.
Building political power year-round
For Anthony Winn, regional organizer for Black Voters Matter South, GOTV is a 365-day commitment.
Black Voters Matter operates in over 25 states, with a focus in 2026 on “reducing harm in Black communities while working to build political power,” Winn said.
Winn pointed to what he described as “attacks on voting rights, cuts to Medicaid and SNAP benefits,” along with rising healthcare and utility costs, as the root causes driving their organizing efforts.
At Texas Southern University, he and his team worked to galvanize students, reminding them that “their voice matters” and that they “have the ability to create the life that they want to live”.
Unlike campaigns that appear every two or four years, Winn said a consistent presence builds trust.
He believes that consistency is paying off.
“I do believe it’s working,” said Winn, noting that organizations are no longer operating in silos but “working together collectively as a community”.
Expanding the electorate, not chasing swing voters
The Texas Organizing Project (TOP) is taking a similar long-term approach.
Brianna Brown, co-executive director of TOP, described a layered structure that includes a PAC (Political Action Committee), a Super PAC, an LLC (Limited Liability Company), a C3 (Charitable Organization), and a C4 (Social Welfare Organization).
Before endorsing candidates, TOP convenes its membership, “mostly Black and Latino directly impacted by not having access to good health care, being entangled in the legal system, in the very extractive immigrant justice system,” Brown explained.
TOP’s strategy rejects what Brown called the failed model of chasing “capricious white swing voters.” Instead, the organization focuses on expanding the electorate by directly engaging Black and Latino voters.
Door-knocking and having in-person conversations with voters remain central.
In 2022, Brown said, TOP ran “the largest program designed specifically to engage Black voters in Texas history,” expanding under the banner of “Black TOP.”
“Texas is home to the largest black population in the country,” she added. “We have the most Black voters of anywhere else in this country, and we have the most eligible but unregistered black folks. We believe that should mean something.”
Combating apathy among young voters
While energy is high, organizers acknowledge a persistent challenge, ie, voter apathy, especially among young people.
Joy Davis, senior field organizer at Pure Justice, said voting in the primaries is critical because “their voice is their vote”. Without participation, she warned, “you’re just going to get the same old same old”.
Pure Justice is currently partnering with the Transform the Justice Coalition on a nationwide GOTV effort, including blockwalking on campuses and in neighborhoods across Harris County.
Davis explained that outreach efforts focus on informing and encouraging participation.
That education gap is something TSU sophomore Brianna Fisher also sees.
“It is very important because a lot of people think that we should only vote where the big elections are, but the local elections are the most important ones that you need to pay attention to and vote,” Fisher said. “In Black and brown communities, we’re discouraged or just not taught about voting literacy enough, and that hurts us as a whole.”
Christian Davis, a sophomore political science major at TSU, framed voting as both a privilege and a responsibility.
“I’ve come from a long line of pioneers who fought for me to have this right,” he said. He believes voting should not be made difficult, arguing that “it shouldn’t be difficult to exercise your right” as it influences the everyday lives of voters.
A generational shift in motion
Back at TSU, student leaders say the political atmosphere has heightened awareness.
“Students fail to realize the amount of power that they have,” said Landon Renau, a student advocate at TSU. With over 8,000 students on campus, even a fraction turning out can make a difference.
