'10,000 Black Men of Houston' rally at City Hall, promoting voter participation before Election Day

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- On Sunday, the group "10,000 Black Men of Houston" gathered outside Houston City Hall to drum up voter turnout in the second week of early voting, just over a week before election day.

The event was billed as nonpartisan. Organizers said they don't want to tell people to vote for one candidate or another. Instead, they just want to encourage people to hit the polls.

"The bottom line is, our youth need to see us out here, our youth need to see us, and our families need to see us out here for our community, president of 10,000 Black Men of Houston Darnell Joseph said.

Minority communities have historically faced suppression and roadblocks when it comes to voting. Attendees said today was about reminding people of their past and the rights they should exercise.

"I think about my parents paying a $2 poll tax just to vote, people counting jelly beans just to vote, so it's important to remember what our ancestors and elders did, and we're exercising that right that we are the adults who can make that change and the only change is made at the ballot box," elected trustee for HISD for NE Houston, Savant Moore, said.

As of Saturday, nearly 643.3k Harris County residents have voted yearly across 87 early voting locations.

As the rally played on downtown, the West Gray multi-service center didn't have the long lines it's seen during the week, but it was still alive with voters casting their ballots.

"This year is really important for the country so we decided to come out and vote, hopefully our vote will count," voter Kaylin Mar said.

All the voters we spoke to said that between work, family matters, and daily life, it can be hard to vote on election day, which falls on a Tuesday.

"Early voting usually has less lines, and I can come during the weekend and not have to take off work for it," voter Mariana Licon said.

Sunday afternoon was a quick in and out for most voters.

"For us, we don't have any kids or pets to worry about, but I know for families, that's a really big deal. For us, it's that we have a longer commute to work, so having to take time off to come over here on a work day is a lot harder," voter Brandon Corrodi said.

You have one week of early voting left. Election day is Tuesday, Nov. 5.

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