Texas Voting & Elections (Chapter 04) Dr. Michael Sullivan Texas State Government GOVT 2306 Houston Community College
AGENDA 1. Current Events 2. Political Participation in Texas 3. Voting Trends 4. Summary & Upcoming Assignments
Unit 3: Political Participation Unit 1 Foundations Unit 2 Institutions Unit 3 Political Participation Unit 4 Public Policy
Current Event Discussion:
Current Event Discussion:
2018 Election: Comptroller https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lodvbv5wb8 https://www.facebook.com/joifortexas/videos/vb.1762637604 030060/1855025728124580/?type=2&theater
2018 Election: Comptroller https://glennhegar.com/issues/ https://www.joifortexas.com/priorities/
Political Participation Factors Rank In Importance Demographic Factors Age / Gender Level of Education Income / Occupation Ethnicity (Cultural Factors) Political Factors Identify as Democrat or Republican (Party Affiliation) Political Culture / Ideology Candidates Image Particular Issues 8
Key Findings Political participation remains extremely low. A dislike for the candidates and the issues is the reason Texans did not vote in 2016. Texans do not regularly talk about politics. Charitable donating and volunteering is not a priority for many Texans. Texans make relatively good neighbors. https://moody.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/2018 Texas_Civic_Health_Index.pdf
Political Participation in Texas https://moody.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/2018 Texas_Civic_Health_Index.pdf
Political Participation in Texas Age & Gender Only 32% of Texans ages 18 24 voted in the 2016 election In Texas, there is a great disparity among age groups when it comes to voter registration, with older Texans being registered to vote at much higher levels than younger Texans. Gender Little significant difference with slightly more women then men voting 11 https://moody.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/2018 Texas_Civic_Health_Index.pdf
Political Participation in Texas Education Level strong relationship between educational attainment and voter registration and turnout 12 https://moody.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/2018 Texas_Civic_Health_Index.pdf
Political Participation in Texas Income (2013 Study) Almost three fourths (71.8%) of Texans with annual family incomes over $75,000 reported being registered, compared with only 54.1% of people with family incomes of less than $35,000. 13 https://static.texastribune.org/media/documents/texascivichealthindex.pdf?_ga=2.103731584.1252392796.1500981013 1162832086.1499290574
Political Participation in Texas Ethnicity (2013 Study) A significant voting gap is evident between Whites and other Texans, particularly Hispanics: 43.8% of White Texans reported voting in 2010, compared with 38.7% of African Americans and only 23.1% of Hispanics 14 https://static.texastribune.org/media/documents/texascivichealthindex.pdf?_ga=2.103731584.1252392796.1500981013 1162832086.1499290574
https://moody.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/2018 Texas_Civic_Health_Index.pdf
Political Participation in Texas Political Affiliation (2013 Study) 16 https://static.texastribune.org/media/documents/texascivichealthindex.pdf?_ga=2.103731584.1252392796.1500981013 1162832086.1499290574
Thinking about the Future. Which Political Party will Benefit the Most? Nearly one in five Texans live below the poverty line. Poverty is more prevalent among racial and ethnic minorities in Texas: 25.5% of Texas s total population living in poverty self-identify as Hispanic 23.6% as African Americans Non-Hispanic Whites make up 8.7% of the total.
Group Activity: Who s On My Ballot Democratic Party www.txdemocrats.org/ Republican Party www.texasgop.org/ Libertarian Party www.lptexas.org/2018_candidates Green Party www.txgreens.org/candidates https://webservices.sos.state.tx.us/candidate filing/cf report.aspx
Reflection Moment: Do Issues Matter in Elections? 2018 Texas Civic Health Index Key Findings Political participation remains extremely low. Dislike for candidates and issues is the reason Texans did not vote in 2016. Texans do not regularly talk about politics. https://moody.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/2018 Texas_Civic_Health_Index.pdf
Chpt 4: Questions We are Seeking Answers to.. 1. Explain why some people in Texas are more likely to vote than others? 2. What political factors lead to lower turnout in Texas? 3. How does Republican dominance of statewide office impact turnout in Texas? See p. 122
Voting Eligibility Eligible to register to vote if: You are a United States citizen; You are a resident of the county where you submit the application; You are at least 18 years old on Election Day; You are not a convicted felon (you may be eligible to vote if you have completed your sentence, probation, and parole); and You have not been declared by a court exercising probate jurisdiction to be either totally mentally incapacitated or partially mentally incapacitated without the right to vote.
Voting Requirements Acceptable forms of photo ID: Texas driver license issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Texas Election Identification Certificate issued by DPS Texas personal identification card issued by DPS Texas license to carry a handgun issued by DPS United States military identification card containing the person s photograph United States citizenship certificate containing the person s photograph United States passport
Issues in Voting Only ½ of eligible voters turn out in presidential elections Only 1/3 for off year elections More vote in federal than state elections Primaries & special elections have lowest turn outs Ballot fatigue Less votes further down Split ticket voting Delivers blow to party identification Participation Paradox (p. 80) Apathy Does one vote matter?
Voting Trends in Texas Conservative & Republican
2016 Voting Turnout in Texas 2016 - November (Presidential) Registered Voters 15,101,087 Voting Age Population (VAP) 19,307,355 Percentage of VAP Registered 78.21% Turnout 8,969,226 Percent of Turnout to Registered 59.39% Percent of Turnout to VAP 46.45% http://www.texascounties.net/statistics/presidentialelection2016.htm 12% Increase in Texas Voting Turnout
Reasons for Low Voter Turnout in Texas Legal constraints page 86-87 Demographic Reasons page 88 Political structure (long ballot) page 88 Party competition (Republicans dominate) page 88 Political culture (traditionalist & individualistic) page 88-89 28
Elections In Texas Texas voters select officials in all three branches. Texans vote on many more local offices than other states County City Judicial Public school districts Community college districts Other special districts it is an extensive list! State constitutional amendments and local tax policies
Activity What is needed to file with State to run as a Democratic and Republican Party candidate? https://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/ca ndidates/guide/demorrep2018.shtml#c
Texas Primary Filing Requirements for Democratic and Republican Party Nominees https://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/candidates/guide/demorrep2018.shtml#c
Elections In Texas Any party receiving 20 percent of the gubernatorial vote in previous election General Elections & Special Elections
Primaries Direct (Open) Primaries In partisan contests, primaries are first election in the electoral cycle Many local races are nonpartisan, like city and school district contests. Administered in all 254 counties Voters choose party nominee for general election
Open vs Closed Primaries
Primaries Primary elections (2nd Tuesday in March in even years) Candidates file with parties Parties pay fees to county governments to hold the elections, but fees don t cover all costs. Runoff primary (In May (May 22 nd )) If there is a runoff, those who did not vote in the other party s primary, in March, can vote. Example: A person who voted in Democratic primary cannot vote in GOP runoff. http://www.harrisvotes.com/electionresults.aspx
Primaries Voters do not register by party in Texas. Voters can vote in either party primary, but only one primary per election cycle. For example, one could vote in the Democratic primary in 2008, and the GOP primary in 2010. Candidates must win either: a majority of the primary vote or a run off between the two highest votegetters
General Elections Governor and other major statewide contests coincide with midterm elections Deliberately scheduled not to coincide with presidential race Diminish national partisan coattail effect Diminish positive impact state candidate could offer national candidates. General Elections
Designed to meet special or emergency needs Used to fill vacant offices Grant approval for government borrowing Example: Cities voting on public funding for professional sports team facilities Ratify amendments Turnout very low in special elections Few know about the candidates, issues, or even the fact that an election is taking place. Far less media coverage Special Elections Special Elections https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qu3c1johoqk
State Elections Steps for Independents/Third Parties to run for statewide office Candidates must obtain petition signatures equal to 2 percent of the total votes in the last governor s race. Signatures must come from registered voters who did not participate in any political party primary election. Signature collection cannot begin until the day after the last primary election. Voters may sign only one candidate s petition. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzjrwnuqdru
Campaigns A serious campaign for statewide office in Texas is very expensive 2012 GOP Senate Primary $26 million spent Ted Cruz spent $7 million and David Dewhurst spent $19 million (and lost) Note: Cruz spent far less against his Democratic opponent in the general election Outside PACs also poured millions directly into advertising for this race, above and beyond the actual campaign spending.
Campaigns Why are Texas campaigns especially costly? Extensive travel (often by airplane) El Paso to Houston is over 800 miles Large number of media markets Require experienced campaign professionals to run them Polling the large electorate is expensive
Group Activity
https://www.followthemoney.org/tools/election overview/?s=tx&y=2016
Third Parties Extremely hard to run as anything other than a Democrat or Republican A few notable attempts, but all ultimately failed Rules for running for office are made by Democrats and Republicans Partisans have a vested interest in making it difficult for others to challenge them.
Administration of elections County level Administration Ballot Construction Party column ballot Split ticket voting Straight ticket voting Office block ballot http://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/index.shtml 46 http://www.harrisvotes.com/
The conduct and administration of elections Early Voting Counting and Recounting Ballots Chad Electronic Voting Does electronic voting solve the problems with the paper ballot? How can we tell? Copyright 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 47
Election Campaigns in Texas The General Election Campaign Mobilizing groups Choosing issues The campaign trail Negative campaigning Timing Money in Election Campaigns Political Action Committees (PACs) Where does the money go? Control over money in campaigns Soft money Independent expenditures Copyright 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 48
Profiles of Texas Campaign Mega Donors Copyright 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 49
Unit 3: Political Participation Unit 1 Foundations Unit 2 Institutions Unit 3 Political Participation Unit 4 Public Policy