This article is part of U.S. Democracy Day, a nationwide collaborative on Sept. 15, the International Day of Democracy, in which news organizations cover how democracy works and the threats it faces. To learn more, visit usdemocracyday.org.
Here at The Austin Common, one of our main goals is to help grow our local democracy, by making it easier for more people to know how it all works and to get involved….
Which is why we’re so excited to announce a new partnership with Get It Games, a local trivia company that hosts quizzes at bars and restaurants across the city. Throughout the months of September and October, we’ll be teaming up with them to add local civic-related questions to their trivia nights.
Trivia participants will also receive information about our voter guides and have the opportunity to win copies of our “A Beginner’s Guide To Local Government” zines, which are illustrated by local artists and explain how Austin’s government system works.
Why we’re doing this…
Voter turnout in Austin’s local elections is consistently low, especially amongst young people. In speaking with young people in our community, we’ve learned that a big reason for this is a lack of awareness that these elections are even happening in the first place.
But we also know that doesn’t mean young people don’t care about their local communities. It’s just difficult to know where to begin, especially when local government is not that accessible to newcomers.
This is where The Austin Common comes in! We use art and social media to make local government more accessible, easy-to-understand, and even a little bit fun! Which is why we are so excited to launch this trivia experiment. Our hope is to be able to reach people in our community who haven’t engaged in politics before, but who care about Austin and are eager to learn how their vote could make a difference.
Here’s a list of the trivia nights we have planned so far (with more to come):
PS – As you can see, these trivia nights are not going to be 100% civic themed. Instead, one or two local government questions will be featured each night. We like to think of it as an invitation or a first step for local government newbies thinking about getting involved for the first time.
About Get It Games:
It all started with a baby shower… Founders Jess and Kati first put their heads together to create a trivia game for a mutual friend’s baby shower back in 2014. Soon after, with a little luck and a lot of friends, we formed the trivia group known as Get It Gals.
For many years the Get It Gals name served us well as we grew to host trivias, muzingos, listening parties, book launches, and so much more.
In 2024 we made the decision to update our name to better reflect the inclusive nature of our events and the community built around them. Thus our new name, Get It Games, came to fruition. An events company built by women, and open to all.
Find us across central Texas, San Antonio, and hosting virtual events from anywhere! #getit