The Democracy Pillar and Climate Pillar of the Social Action Committee are partnering to give First UU members an opportunity to support civic participation in the 2026 midterm elections through the Texas Postcard Project, organized by Bob and Victoria Hendricks.<\/p>\n
Research consistently shows that voter participation drops significantly in midterm elections. In Texas, recent redistricting has left only a handful of U.S. House races truly competitive. The Texas Postcard Project focuses on the only three congressional districts still competitive, all in the Lower Rio Grande Valley\u2014TX-15, TX-28, and TX-34\u2014where increased voter participation can have an outsized impact.<\/p>\n
These districts include large Latino populations and have historically experienced substantial declines in turnout during midterm elections. Supporting participation in these communities advances both democracy and environmental justice by helping people speak for themselves through the power of their vote.<\/p>\n
The project uses publicly available voter history data and turnout modeling to identify registered voters who voted in the 2024 presidential election but did not vote in the 2022 midterm election. Research suggests these voters are among the most likely to respond to postcard outreach.<\/p>\n
The project also targets voters who score highly on Yale Program on Climate Change Communication models that identify people who are especially concerned about climate change. The goal is not to persuade people what to think, but to encourage participation by voters whose voices are often missing in midterm elections.<\/p>\n
This approach is based on findings from dozens of peer-reviewed voter turnout studies involving hundreds of thousands of participants. Every aspect of the project has been designed to maximize effectiveness while remaining nonpartisan and focused on civic engagement.<\/p>\n