The Fort Worth Independent School District (FWISD) has come under fire for bussing unregistered and underage students to local polling locations.
In November of 2022, FWISD partnered with March to the Polls (MTTP), a Texas non-profit whose stated mission is to “substantially increase electoral participation by underrepresented communities, primarily youth and people of color,” to bus hundreds of students to multiple polling locations to “meet and greet” Democrat candidates and vote in local elections. The "field trips" were chaotic and disorganized, and many of the students who participated in these trips were either not registered to vote or did not have valid registrations due to errors or a failure to meet registration deadlines. Worse still, some students who participated were under the legal voting age of 18. Neither the Tarrant County Elections Administration nor any polling locations were made aware of these field trips prior to the students arrival, which led to the disruptive scenes that took place at polling locations during the election. Amie Super, a Deputy Lead Poll Clerk for Tarrant County, filed grievances against the school district. “The chaperones from the high schools, from March To The Polls nor the students had been educated about behavior that is unlawful within the poll site,” stated Super. “In failing to coordinate with TCEA, failing to prepare the students by educating them about the voting process, failing to properly register the students who registered through their High School Voter Registrar program, FWISD took what should have been a memorable experience for their student voters and instead contributed to actually suppressing the votes of most of the students who thought they would be casting votes for elected officials for the very first time.” In a Public Level III Grievance Hearing that was held to address Super’s filed grievances, Texas Attorney Paul Davis, a partner attorney with Citizens Defending Freedom, revealed that March to the Polls supposedly paid for the field trip, but the organization disclosed that only $873.80 was donated for a minimum of 13 schools to send busses to the polls. As of March 2023, March to the Polls, who visited 57 Texas campuses and registered over 6,000 students to vote in 2022, has no reported assets, income, or revenue.
After the Level III hearing was moved into a closed Executive Session for counsel with their attorney, the FWISD reconvened into an open meeting and ultimately voted to require that all future polling location field trips were to be coordinated between the Superintendent and the Tarrant County Elections Administrator. “We thank the FWISD Board of Trustees and Superintendent for committing on the record to resolve this matter for all future elections.” Davis remarked. “This is a win for accountability, transparency, and will help restore confidence that elections are conducted fairly and taxpayer resources are utilized responsibly.”
Founded in 2021, Citizens Defending Freedom is a non-profit organization that strategically operates in counties across America to help citizens defend their faith and freedom, all while fighting for transparency in local government. Currently, Citizens Defending Freedom is established in Florida, Georgia, Michigan, and Texas, with plans to continue expanding across America. Click here to learn more about Citizens Defending Freedom.
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