“Good thing we’ve still
got politics in Texas—
finest form of free
entertainment ever
invented.”
Molly Ivins
By Loren Miller
Voting Qualifications
Each state has complete discretion concerning voting
qualifications for national, state and local elections –
subject only to the limitations presented in the U.S.
Constitution (race, color, age, gender, or non-payment of
a poll tax)
Texas: (Texas Election Code 11.002)
18 years of age
U.S. citizen
Has not been determined mentally incompetent by
a court
Has not been convicted of a felony (unless rights
have been restored)
Resident of the state and county (30 days)
Registered voter (within 30 days of election)
Over 70% of the Texas voting population is registered
(Motor Voter Law)
Voting In Texas
The right to vote has not always been as widespread
in the United States as it is today.
Texas has a history of preventing people from
voting by placing barriers (legal and otherwise) to
the ballot.
These barriers were implemented after the passage
of the 14th and 15th Amendments.
These amendments were intended to prevent
denial of the right to vote based on race.
Voting In Texas
After the Civil War Texas law permitted men of all
races and ethnicities to vote if they met simple age,
residency and citizenship requirements.
Texas, like many states allowed illegal aliens to vote
if they declared an intent to become a U.S. citizen.
Huge impact in South Texas elections
Elections were overseen by local officials, usually
the county judge or county sheriff.
Literacy Tests (used in Texas) began to be used in
the 1870s and required prospective voters to take a
screening test that conditioned voter registration on
a person’s literacy.
Voting In Texas
The Ku Klux Klan used terrorist tactics to keep African
Americans from voting.
Northeast Texas was a hotbed of Klan activity.
By the 1890s, Blacks and Hispanics were managed by
“influence men.”
“Owl Meetings” in East Texas and “Goat
Barbeques” in South Texas (where the liquor
flowed) were held the night prior to the election.
Grandfather Clause (not used in Texas) stated that if
your grandfather could vote prior to 1867, then you
would be exempt from educational, property, or tax
requirements for voting.
Declared unconstitutional in Guinn v. U.S. (1915)
Voting In Texas
The Poll Tax was used in Texas beginning in 1902
and required that citizens pay a special tax ($1.75) to
become eligible to vote.
Many low-income Texans failed to pay their poll
tax between October 1 and January 31 and were
not eligible to vote during the next year.
The 24th Amendment (1964) ended this
practice in federal elections
The Supreme Court declared this
unconstitutional in 1966 for all other
elections (Harper v. Virginia)
The White Primary
The southern states were solidly
Democratic, so who ever won the
Democratic primary was assured of winning
the general election.
The Democratic Party is a private
organization and they established that one
of the requirements for membership was
that you had to be white.
The White Primary
The General Election
Democrat
Winner
v
Republican
Loser
Democratic
Primary
(whites only)
Smith v. Allwright, 1944
The White Primary
The General Election
Democrat
Winner
v
Republican
Loser
Democratic
Primary
The Jaybird Primary
(whites only)
Terry v. Adams, 1953
Voting In Texas
Racial Gerrymandering is used in Texas to
minimize the impact of minority voters.
Packing minorities into districts that are
overwhelmingly minority.
Cracking minorities so that they do not
constitute a majority.
Voter ID Law in Texas
Approved forms of identification:
- a valid Texas Driver’s License
- an identification card issued by the DPS
- a concealed hand gun license issued by the DPS
- an election ID card issued by the DPS
- a U.S. passport
- a military ID card with a photograph
- a U.S. citizenship certificate with a photograph
Voter ID Law in Texas
A student photo ID is not accepted.
The name on your ID must exactly match the
name on the official voting roles.
- if the names are not a perfect match, you
may cast a provisional ballot
- both Wendy Davis and Greg Abbott cast
provisional ballots in the 2013 constitutional
amendment election as their names did not match
the voting roles
Types of Elections
General Election
-- an election to fill state or national offices in November
of even numbered years
-- some states allow voters to cast a straight-ticket ballot
(Texas is one of them)
-- a split-ticket ballot involves voters casting their ballots
for candidates of two or more political parties
-- to win a general election most states require a plurality
of votes (Georgia requires a majority, which might require
a runoff)
Types of Elections
Primary Election
-- an election held to determine a party’s nominee for the
general election
-- a candidate with the most votes wins the primary
election in most states
-- some states (in the South) require that the candidate
have a majority to win which might require a runoff
Closed Primary
-- only registered party members can participate in their
party’s primary
Open Primary
-- allows voters to pick the party primary of their choice
Jungle Primary
-- all of the candidates for an office run in the same
primary regardless of party affiliation (California)
Types of Elections
At-large Election
-- a method for choosing public officials in which the
citizens of an entire political subdivision, such as a
state, vote to select officeholders
-- election for governor of Texas
-- election for the U.S. House for states with only one
representative
-- election for the U.S. Senate
District Election
-- a method for choosing public officials that divides
a political subdivision, such as a state, into
geographic areas called districts; each district elects
one official
-- election for the U. S. House in Texas (36)
-- election for the Texas House (150) and Texas Senate
(31)
At-Large v. Single Member Districts
Voter Turnout
In Texas, turnout is higher in presidential
elections than in nonpresidential
elections—this follows the national trend.
The voter turnout in Texas falls well below
the national average. Why?
Long ballot and lack of information about
candidates and issues
Voter fatigue (too many elections)
Negative campaigning
Low levels of educational attainment
Low per capita income
High rate of poverty
Young population
Little party competition
Texas Turnout
Demographics of Voter Turnout in 2012
Age
National
Texas
18-24 25-44 45-64 65-74 75+
41.2 57.3
68.9 73.5 70.0
25.4
47.3
62.6
Total
61.8
74.7 72.6
53.8
Gender
National
Male
59.7
Female
63.7
Texas
50.8
56.6
Race
National
White
62.2
Black
66.2
Hispanic
48.0
Asian
47.4
Texas
53.1
63.1
38.8
43.4
% of Votes Cast in Texas Elections by Race and Ethnicity
100
90
80
78
79
74
70
76
77
72
69
68
65
67
60
Asian
50
Black
40
Hispanic
30
Anglo
20
10
0
11
9
11
8
13
9
0
0
0
17
18
18
18
9
10
11
17
12
2
2
3
2
13
8
12
8
9
0
0
0
Voter Turnout in Presidential Elections
(as % of Voting Eligible Population)
64
62
62
61
60
59
59
58
57
56
56
55
54
55
55
54
53
52
50
1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012
Voter Turnout By State in 2012
(as % of Voting Eligible Population)
Highest Turnout
Lowest Turnout
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
Minnesota
76.1%
Wisconsin**
73.2%
Colorado**
71.1%
New Hampshire**70.9%
Iowa**
70.2%
Maine
69.2%
Virginia**
66.9%
Maryland
66.8%
Massachusetts 66.6%
Michigan
65.3%
Kentucky
New Mexico
New York
Arizona
Tennessee
Arkansas
Texas
Oklahoma
West Virginia
Hawaii
55.9%
54.9%
53.6%
53.3%
52.6%
51.0%
50.1%
49.6%
46.8%
44.5%
Five of the ten states with the highest turnout have some form of election day registration.
Five of the ten states with the highest turnout were swing states.**
Average turnout in the 10 swing states was 7.2% higher than in the non-swing states.
Five of the lowest turnout states are considered solidly Democratic or solidly Republican and
have more burdensome registration requirements.
Voter Turnout in Presidential Elections
Most states saw a decline in turnout compared to 2008. Turnout
decline was noticeably higher in the non-swing states.
Largest Increase
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Utah**
Colorado
Wisconsin
Massachusetts
Iowa
New Hampshire
Virginia
North Carolina
Maryland
Mississippi
** The Romney Factor
Largest Decrease
2.6%
1.0%
0.5%
0.1%
0.0%
-1.5%
-1.7%
-2.0%
-2.3%
-2.3%
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
Missouri
New Mexico
Connecticut
Texas
Wyoming
West Virginia
California
Hawaii
Oklahoma
Alaska
-9.2%
-9.2%
-9.2%
-9.2%
-9.7%
-9.8%
-10.7%
-12.4%
-13.1%
-13.4%
Early Voting
Thirty-two states have some form of early voting.
In Texas, early voting begins two weeks prior to the
election and ends four days before the election.
Early Voting:
2004
2008
2012
23%
31%
35%
Older voters prefer to vote early, while younger
persons prefer to vote in-person on election day.
Election Day Registration
Election day registration allows voters to register
or update their registration at the polls on Election
Day and then cast a regular ballot.
States with EDR have consistently higher voter
participation rates
In 2012, states with EDR had an average turnout
of 71.3%; this was 12.5% higher than the
turnout in states without EDR.
All EDR states had voter turnout above the
national average.
Election Day Registration
States that allow election day registration:
Colorado
California
Connecticut
Idaho
Iowa
Maine
Minnesota
Montana
New Hampshire
Wisconsin
Wyoming
2013
2012
2012
1994
2007
1973
1974
2005
1996
1975
1994
Campaign Finance
“Politics has become so expensive
that it takes a lot of money even
to be defeated!”
Will Rogers
“Money makes the mare go.”
Lyndon B. Johnson
“There are two things that matter
in politics. The first is money. I
can’t remember the second.”
Mark Hanna
Campaign Finance
Election campaigns are expensive, so
candidates need to raise plenty of money to be
competitive.
The amount of money raised could be the
deciding factor in the campaign as over 90% of
congressional candidates who raise the most
money are victorious.
The Texas “record” for spending belongs to
Tony Sanchez who in 2002 spent over $60
million (most of it his own money) and lost his
race for governor.
Many Texans are qualified to hold public office,
but relatively few can pay their own campaign
expenses.
Campaign Finance
Candidates need money to hire a campaign
staff, cover overhead expenses, purchase
advertising, and pay for travel.
They hire:
consultants to plan strategy
pollsters to assess public reaction to candidates
and issues
media consultants to develop an advertising
campaign field organizers to get out the vote
opposition researchers to dig for dirt on
opponents
internet consultants to design websites
and fundraisers to find the cash to pay for it all
Campaign Finance
Other money goes for campaign literature,
office space, postage, telephones, polling, and
consulting fees.
The single largest item in a big-time campaign
budget is media, especially television.
a weeks worth of television advertising in the
major media markets costs more than $1.5
million
a 30 second spot in the ten o’clock news in Dallas
is about $5,000
a 30 second spot during prime time runs upwards
of $20,000
a 60 second radio spot in an early morning drive
show runs more than $500
Campaign Finance
Most states restrict the amount of money
individuals and groups can contribute to
candidates for office, but not Texas.
Two-thirds of the states limit campaign
contributions and one-third provide public
funding for campaigns in exchange for
voluntary spending limits.
Texas law places no limits on campaign
contributions or on campaign expenditures for
candidates for executive or legislative office
Candidates may raise an unlimited amount of
money from individuals or PACs as long as they
report the names, occupations and employers of
people who gave them $500 or more
Bob Perry, Houston Homebuilder
Campaign Strategy
Campaign Goals:
1) Build name recognition (incumbency
advantage)
a) Some do not need this, e.g., Bush,
Kennedy, Yarborough, Gene Kelly.
2) Create a favorable image for the
candidate (Perry)
3) Create an unfavorable image of your
opponent (Perry)
4) Get supporters to the polls
a) a well organized campaign identifies
likely voters and encourages them to vote
b) turnout is more important for
Democrats than Republicans