At Tila’s Taco Truck in downtown Houston, a dark blue sign now occupies a space to the right of the menu. In bold letters it reads, ‘Registrarse Y Vota.’ Register and vote, in English, and it’s the slogan of a campaign that has reinvented voter registration for its target demographic: latinos.
The campaign started a few weeks after Marco Gutierrez, President of Latinos for Trump, warned voters that they’d have “a taco truck on every corner” unless Donald J. Trump’s tough immigration policies were implemented.
The line took a life of its own on social media, where it was met with a chorus of excitement by everyone who would love for a taco truck to be on every corner. It even earned it’s own hashtag, and a few great memes.
Read More: A Taco Truck on Every Corner? “Yes Please,” Says the Internet”
In Houston, however, a group of taco trucks ran with the idea. Organized by Houston designer Thomas Hull in partnership with Mi Familia Vota, eight of the city’s taco trucks have turned into pop-up voter registration locations. Now, as you decide between salsa verde and guacamole, you can also pick up a bilingual voter registration sheet. The latter, of course, is totally free.
“We go where people go,” said Carlos Duarte, the Texas director of Mi Familia Vota. “Our feeling was, ‘It’s a great idea. Let’s do it’.”
The registration ‘side-dish’ is part of a campaign with its own hashtag to rival Gutierrez’: #GuacTheVote. Initially, it was driven by the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Now, the campaign has taken literal meaning in Houston and in Arizona, where 150 taco trucks have registered voters.
According to the New York Times, Texas hit a record high for voter registration; this year the state registered over 14 million people. So it should be no surprise they’ve gained acclaim for their innovative approach to getting it done:
Swing by @rigsby_hull between 4-6PM—eat a taco from @TilasTacoTruck, #RegisterToVote, and help us #GuacTheVote! pic.twitter.com/E5KzSZHlGV
— Rigsby Hull (@rigsby_hull) September 27, 2016
There's no debate over Guacamole! 😂 #guacthevote#avl#avleats#wavl#wavleatspic.twitter.com/6VzOp24W5w
— ZiaTaqueriaAVL (@ZiaTaqueriaAVL) September 27, 2016
all this debate stuff...only thing I'm debating is whether or not I should get chipotle tomorrow #GuacTheVote
— Carter Pacis (@cpac128) September 27, 2016
In Houston, the outreach campaign will run until voter registration deadline day, which is October 11th in Texas. The tacos, we hope, will be forever.