Posted on 11/05/2014 2:45:43 PM PST by thetallguy24
The Texas GOP woke up this morning feeling extremely positive about yesterday’s results. Wendy Davis got destroyed, Pete Gallego lost his U.S. House seat, and the Texas Senate is now one seat away from being Democrat filibuster-proof thanks to Konni Burton. The debate over the future of Republican dominance in Texas appears to be over for now, but Texans are leaving the political process in droves.
After the 1994 gubernatorial election between George W. Bush and Ann Richards, voter turner dropped significantly. 1994’s turnout was just over 50%, but since then turnout in gubernatorial elections years has never surpassed 38%. Although seeing immense national attention and pouring of money into the state, this year’s election was no exception, seeing turnout at an abysmal 33%. That’s the lowest gubernatorial turnout since 1998.
There’s no consensus to why Texans aren’t participating in voting. Is it discouragement over crony capitalism or corruption? Do independents lack a voice? Are celebrity baby photos on the internet just too distracting to get off the couch and go vote? That debate will rage on, but the numbers are clear as day: Texans don’t want to vote. The current strategy even on the GOP’s part doesn’t appear to be working. The Texas GOP has Hispanic, Asian, and Black engagement departments and offices (the Caucasian and Native American engagement directorships are apparently permanently vacant) across Texas, so where are all of the new or returning voters? Total turnout 20 years ago (4.4 million) was nearly as high as yesterday’s (4.6 million). Perhaps increased voter engagement is not really a priority. Why increase turnout when you’re winning every year?
More proof of lack of engagement lies in Hardhatters’ own statistics. In less than two years, our viewership has grown enormously; however, people only seem to try and get educated on the issues just prior to voting. As you can see in the graph above, tens of thousands of readers, especially from Texas, show up at our site every election cycle to cram in months’ worth of legislative and regulatory research within a 3 week period. It’s as if voters turned into freshmen college students who forgot to study for finals. The outcome when you cram for exams, however, is usually a poorer grade. Elections are the biggest exams in our country, and just how would you grade the Austin and Washington D.C.?
Shouldn't Munisteri get a White Outreach Coordinator if turnout is that bad? If Texas is 50% white, and only 33% of Texans vote, then that means there's a ton of white people who don't vote, right?
Voter ID laws may have played a small part as well.
It was a fine showing and comparable to recent numbers. Liberals always bring out the same excuses when they lose. One of which is that the turnout was low. If voters had been there, they would have of course voted for the ‘rats.
They can’t even be honest with themselves.
It’s WHO votes, NOT the numbers.
This election worked out just fine.
Sure a lot of “the usual suspects” stayed home.
Democrats mostly. Sittin’ out this dance.
It was pouring down rain over much of the state yesterday.
But doesn’t a lower and lower turnout over the years mean more oligarchy? Some say mob rule.
Local elections usually have the worst candidates because NO ONE votes.
The poor folk can’t afford rain jackets and umbrellas.
Rain and a nearly foregone conclusion at the top of the ticket played their parts in the lower % turn out.
Rain and a nearly foregone conclusion at the top of the ticket played their parts in the lower % turn out.
If tea partiers in Texas stayed home they are vile scum. There were plenty of good candidates to vote for. Maybe not for every race but there is no excuse for not getting off their fat, lazy asses and doing what they could now.
We are at the edge of a cliff. Do nothing and they will curse themselves one day soon, shivering in their houses with no power, listening to the shelling in the distance and the growling in their stomachs, while trying to comfort a daughter who was gang raped by forces loyal to hope and change.
America is not special. It can happen here and will happen here if that kind of apathy persists.
These levels of voting participation make me sick and furious.
I don’t know.
I’d rather have fewer, informed voters, than the trucked or bussed-in, ingnorgant masses.
Sorry to be cynical, but unless Texas gets strong anti-voter fraud mechanism in place, it may turn blue in the next decade simply because, as it everywhere, the big city cancers. Actually, voter ID laws may not even save Texas.
I am a ‘BROKEN GLASS CONSERVATIVE’, I VOTED YESTERDAY, I reside in Comal County (second most conservative county in Tejas), My vote doesn’t matter here. (period)
If I lived in Colorado and had a Uterus, it’d be different.
AT my 85 year old mothers persistence, I voted anyway. so Abortion Barbie lost by 20%, had I not shown up she would have loss by 19%.
Had I shown up and voted for the Morman over the Muslim in 2012, would it have made a difference, here in this county? STATS prove otherwise. SO I DIDN’T.
( Voted CRUZ over diphurst in the PRIMARY, 2012), broken glass thing.
G~d Bless Tejas.
Please explain it to me, so I can explain it to MAW!
BINGO!!!!! Voter fraud is rampaant and we all know it...Florida now has voter ID and looked what happenned.....Scott was re-elected. Make no mistake this wouldnt have happenned without voter ID and other reforms.
Miami Dade, Palm and especially Broward county could always be counted on to turn up fraud voters...but not anymore.
So very true.
A lot of voter fraud (illegals and dead people) stayed home with voter ID required and a clean up of the voter rolls.
Whack!
You are so right!!!
“If tea partiers in Texas stayed home they are vile scum. There were plenty of good candidates to vote for. Maybe not for every race but there is no excuse for not getting off their fat, lazy asses and doing what they could now.”
I believe that you are jumping the shark.
I was at the local Tea Party gathering a week before ‘Election Tuesday’ and it was very well attended. Many had already voted and the rest showed every indication of doing so. Those of us that openly profess Tea Party affiliation are among the most likely of the ‘most likely’ voters.
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