DEL VALLE PETITION DRIVE SUCCESSFUL
— Election will be May 15 —

The petitions have been turned in

Over 1000 signatures asking for an election on Del Valle ISD joining the Austin Community College district were turned in to Travis County government on November 18, after being approved by the ACC Board of Trustees. These signatures were the result of two months of hard work by volunteers from the Del Valle and ACC communities.

The county has 30 days to check the signatures and verify that adequately many valid signatures have been collected. 5% of total registered voters (about 955) are required. If there is a shortfall, the petition organizers will be given a chance to collect more (which should be easy in this case).

Efficient collection methods were developed

The technique that turned out to be most productive in getting signatures was door-to-door canvassing by volunteers working from lists of the registered voters in each neighborhood. There was overwhelming support among residents, with refusal rates well below 10%. The collection process was prepared for by placing “Cut ACC Tuition In Half” signs on corners in the target neighborhoods prior to the canvassing.

One pleasing result of the Del Valle effort is that the techniques that worked here are likely to work well in a wide range of communities. They depend on general community support for ACC participation, rather than on individual political figures or institutions. Del Valle is likely to become the model for all subsequent join-ACC efforts.

Campaign will reconvene in January to prepare for the May 15^th election

When the county has certified that an adequate number of petition signatures have been submitted, the county commissioners court will call an election at the next “uniform election date”. In this case, that will be May 15, 2004 (we just missed the deadline for the February 7 election date). Early voting will start April 28.

The campaign volunteers will reassemble in January to plan for the May election. Because the number of people who signed the petition is several times the most people who have voted in past Del Valle bond elections, the election may well turn out to be easier than the petition drive was. We will also make special efforts to reach the hundreds of ACC students who are resident in Del Valle and will immediately benefit from the lower tuition that would result from a vote to join.

Additional information about the Del Valle campaign will be posted here as it becomes available