John, 

As you know, voter turnout is a huge problem in Texas. Over one-third of eligible voters didn’t vote at all in 2020, and over half didn’t vote in 2022.

That’s why Ground Game Texas focuses on engaging voters through popular issues like local marijuana reform — to give people a reason to vote. And we’re excited to report that it’s working!

Here’s what we learned from 2022: While Texas saw overall voter turnout drop 7.3% from 2018 to 2022, this trend did not hold true for Black voters in cities in which we did work. A prime example of this trend is visible in Harker Heights where we saw overall voter turnout decrease 2.7% from 47.3% in 2018 to 44.6% in 2022, while we saw an uptick in Black voter turnout. In 2018, Black voter turnout was 41.2%, but in 2022 - in the wake of our initiatives - it increased marginally to 41.4%. More promisingly, the turnout of Black petition signers increased from 64.4% in 2018 to 66.5% in 2022, a noteworthy rise of 2.1%.

Help us build our roster of campaigns for 2024, so we can make an even greater impact. Chip in $10 or $25 today!

>> Donate Today <<

This is why we do this work. We know that if voters have issues on the ballot they care about, they are more likely to go to the polls. 

In Killeen, African-American residents are subjected to marijuana enforcement at disproportionate rates compared to their population. From public information requests, we know that nearly 80% of arrests for marijuana possession were conducted against African-American community members, double their share of the local population —even though national research shows that marijuana usage is likely higher among white community members.

By putting marijuana reform on the ballot, we gave voters an opportunity to vote for justice and progressive change. 

The results show we are onto something. With your help, we’ll do this again and again. Please donate today.

Working for all of Texas,

Ground Game Texas