AUSTIN, Texas — Before Texans can step into a voting booth, they have to be registered. And for some, filling out the form can be intimidating.
That's where Matt Flores and his team of volunteers come in.
"We just train individuals who want to register voters to make it more accessible to the voter," said Flores, the Voter Registration Outreach and Training Coordinator for Travis County.
On Thursday, Flores hosted three trainings for people who want to become Volunteer Deputy Registrars (VDRs). During the training, people learned about the different types of voter registration forms, who can fill them out and their responsibilities as VDRs.
"They assist an individual in registering the voter, they can help with filling out the form, answering any questions in regards to the information that goes on the form," Flores said. "And then they review the form and make sure all the required fields are filled in and then they bring that form for the voter back to our office."
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Veteran VDRs, like Kassie Phebillo, said registering people to vote is pretty rewarding.
"It's so fulfilling and oftentimes, like, it gets them more engaged in other things within our politics and within our civic system," she said.
From start to finish, the training takes about an hour. Volunteers then take an oath and are ready to serve their community.
"The fact that voter registration – I can't emphasize the importance of that enough – that it's not available online and a lot of people are not aware of that, especially residents that are coming into Texas," Flores said. "Help me educate the voter. Help me share this information."
If you're interested in becoming a VDR, click here for more information and to register for a training.
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