The deadline is here. Two days to decide whether your voice will count in Texas.

We have always known what it means to fight for the right to exist. Our voices have been called too loud, our presence too much, our humanity too inconvenient. Yet every step forward in this country has come because people like us refused silence.

Now we are being tested again. In Texas, in this election, the question is not whether our voices matter. The question is whether we will use them.

Monday, October 6 is the last day to register (or update your registration) if you want to vote in the November 4, 2025 Texas general election. The Texas Tribune breaks down what’s up for grabs in this general election. It’s not just a state deadline. It’s a crucible test — a test of whether we believe in our own power, or whether we’ll let them write us out of this democracy.

Because make no mistake: this isn’t business as usual. The stakes are enormous. In Texas, ballots will include 17 proposed constitutional amendments—the most this state has ever placed on a single ballot.

Maybe you think “I don’t know who to vote for.” Fine. But registration is the doorway. If you don’t open it, you lose a right you already hold. If you miss October 6, it doesn’t matter how outraged you are or how loud your voice becomes—because you won’t be on the list.

This is how they build erasure. First, they deny your equality. Then they mask cruelty with memes and “jokes.” Then they make it illegal or impossible for you to show up. And by the time you realize the system is rigged, it’s too late. They’ve already locked the doors. That’s exactly what we saw in the rhetoric of Schmitt, the mockery Natasha Alford faced, the Project 2025 threats. Silence is the first tool of domination.

So here’s what you must do right now, Texas:

1.    Register or update your registration today — don’t wait until the last minute. Go to VoteTexas.gov to check your status or get your form. (The Texas Tribune)

2.   Share this deadline with ten people in your circle. Anyone. Family. Church. Coworkers. Because every person who registers changes the math of suppression.

3.   Know your ballot ahead of time. Read about the 17 amendments, your local races, and where the power lies in your county.

4.   Plan your vote early — early voting begins October 20 and continues through October 31. (The Texas Tribue)

5.    Show up with pride, not fear. They can try to intimidate you, but they cannot unmake your courage.

To everyone who’s been sitting out, unsure, waiting for someone to “fix the system”—this is that moment. The system is broken, yes. But we are not powerless. By showing up, by forcing them to count us, by making their silence cost them everything, we refuse the purge.

Let them call us loud, let them call us angry. Let them try to laugh us off. Because in Texas, on November 4, we will show them that we are not disappearing. We are not quiet. We are not docile. We are present. We are registered. We are counted.

They want a state where we vanish. We’ll build one where we resonate. This is not just politics. This is survival. Whoever told you your vote “doesn’t matter” was lying. It matters. Now more than ever.

Register by October 6. Do not wait. They’d love it if you do. We will not give them that gift.