The Participation Paradox:
*Voting is a means of holding politicians, in any republic, accountable for their actions. (Pure democracies are not headed by elected leaders, rather they are governed by simple majority vote of the entire body of citizens. In a republic, by contrast, the government is chosen by the people as representatives of the whole who then get to make the important political choices for the whole. The US Constitution guarantees to every state a republican form of government).
*Individual votes rarely make a significant difference (except in close elections, e.g., LBJ’s election to the US Senate in 1948, President Bush’s election to the White House in 2000; numerous local elections across the state).
Who Votes?:
*Those with higher education, higher income, and older age
*Interest in politics and intensity of political party identification influence voting
The Practice of Voting:
*Limitations to voting in Texas
--Must be over 18 years of age
--Must be a citizen of the US
--Must be a resident of the State of Texas
--Must not be “mentally incompetent” as determined by a court of law
--Must not have been convicted of a felony and still serving a jail term
--Must be registered to vote (an easy process, made easier by federal “motor voter” legislation)
*Registration to vote is permanent until post office returns a non-forwardable voter registration certificate
--when you register, there is a 30 day delay between filing the application and becoming fully registered
*County voter registration lists available for purchase; used by parties and special interest groups
*Early voting allowed in Texas since 1991
*All ballots in counties with 5% or more Hispanic population must be bilingual
Voter Turnout in the US and Texas:
*Decline in turnout since 1960 (percentage-wise)
--Average presidential election years’ turnout is approx. 50%-60%
--Average midterm election years’ turnout is approx. 35%
--26th Amendment helped lower the turnout percentage
--Decline in party identification also helped lower turnout
*Texas voter turnout fairly stable, at approx. 10% below the national average. Neck and neck with Louisiana for the lowest voter turnout in the country in most elections (Texas was 49th in ’02 and ’04)
Reasons for Low Voter Turnout in Texas:
*Legal constraints—a history of them
--state poll taxes; held unconstitutional by SCOTUS in 1966
--Female suffrage (increasing the voter base => decrease in total turnout percentage); prior to the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution, 1920, women weren’t allowed full suffrage rights (they were allowed to vote in the Texas primaries in 1918)
--White Primaries—overturned by SCOTUS 1944
--Restrictions on military voting; held unconstitutional by SCOTUS in 1965
--Long residence requirements (one year residence in the state, six months in the county); held unconstitutional by SCOTUS in 1972
--property ownership requirements for voting in bond and tax elections; held unconstitutional by SCOTUS in 1969
--annual registration; held unconstitutional by lower federal courts in 1971
--early registration (by January 31); held unconstitutional by lower federal courts 1971
--Jury duty selection; voter registration rolls replaced by drivers’ licenses as method of selecting potential jurors)
*Socioeconomic factors
More people below poverty line in Texas than in any other state
Low levels of formal education, especially among Hispanics and African-Americans
*Political Structure
Long ballots—many offices elected; constitutional amendments; bonds; boards; etc.
--greater fragmentation of government => more “meaningless” elections
*Political Culture
Moralistic culture
--participation beneficial to individual and society
Traditionalistic culture
--participation an elitist privilege to preserve status quo
Individualistic culture
--blurring of political and economic interests; business plays big role
Texas mixes both traditionalistic and individualistic elements
Elections in Texas:
2-party dominance (Republicans and Democrats)—due to the fact it only takes a plurality (more than any other candidate, not necessarily a majority) of the vote to win an election
Primary Elections:
*Direct primary replaced party convention in Texas in the 1906 election year
--Prior to 1944, party primaries were deemed private affairs; exclusions in primary participation were justified, just as exclusions from country club memberships could be justified.
*Who Must Hold a Primary?:
Major parties by law must hold primaries (those parties receiving 20%+ of the vote for governor in the previous general election)
Minor parties by law must hold conventions (those parties receiving <20% of the vote for governor in the previous general election)
Creation of new parties is severely restricted by state law—new parties must hold conventions, must file a list of supporters with the secretary of state = 1% of the total vote for governor in the previous general election; list members must be registered voters who have not participated in the activities of any major party; each page of the petition must be notarized).
*Financing Primaries:
1971ff, primaries are funded from the state treasury
Candidates wishing to run for the party nomination must file with the state or county party chair of the party in which they wish to run and pay the filing fee (ranging from $50-$4000, depending on the office)
Signature petitions are alternatives to filing fees (5000 signatures for statewide offices; no more than 500 for lesser offices)
*Administering Primaries:
Chairs and executive committees collect filing fees, draw to determine the order of names on the ballot, certify the ballot, select election judges in each precinct, and arrange polling places and printing of the ballot)
*Dual Primary:
Nominations by majority (50% + 1) of the vote; means that runoffs are often required in Texas primary races, due to the larger number of candidates competing. Runoffs are between the two candidates receiving the highest vote totals in the first primary election (in March)
--Primary elections in Texas are 2nd Tuesday in March of even-numbered years (earliest state primary in the country; not the earliest presidential primary)
--Runoff elections held on 2nd Tuesday of April of even-numbered years
--1986 Texas votes to become part of regional primary “Super Tuesday” to increase Texas influence in nominations of national candidates
--Low turnout for primaries; turnout increases as education, income, and ideological commitments increase
*Closed Primary:
Texas is technically a closed primary state, but operates as an open primary state. People select on the day of the March primary election in which political party’s primary they will vote. No one who votes in the March primary of one party may vote in the runoff primary (in April) of another party.
No one may vote in more than one party’s primary on the primary election day.
--“open primaries” do not require party membership to participate in the primary election; closed primaries do require some sort of party declaration, but no formal party membership is required in Texas to participate in either party’s primary elections.
--“closed primaries” also recognize the strength of logic that allows only party members to select nominees to run on their party’s ticket; voter party membership is usually selected at the time of registration to vote in most states (in which case, independents do not get to participate in a party’s primary). In Texas, the party “membership” is not listed on the registration card until the day of the March primary, when it is stamped onto it in order to prevent anyone voting in one party’s March primary from voting in the other party’s April runoff primaries.
--Crossover voting: Attempting to select nominees of the other party more in line ideologically with one’s own beliefs (in order to avoid too much disappointment on election day) OR attempting to select nominees of the other party who are so far outside the ideological mainstream that one’s own party’s candidates have a much greater shot at winning the general election.
General Elections:
Government-administered in their totality, as these are the official public elections to determine the winners of any given political office. In order to win a general election in Texas, all that is required is a plurality of the vote (more votes than any other, not necessarily a majority).
Held every even-numbered year on the same day as the national elections—1st Tuesday after the 1st Monday in November.
--All US House Seats up for election every two years; 1/3 of US Senate seats, nationwide
--All Texas State House seats up for election every two years; ½ of State Senate seats
--Judges, board members, and state administrative/executive officers’ elections are staggered, though most are in the same years as the gubernatorial elections
--Having the governor’s race and state executive officers’ races in the off-years focuses the campaign around Texas-specific issues, takes attention off the national issues; also reduces voter turnout and makes election results more predictable.
Conservative Texas Democrats often at odds with the National Democratic Party’s candidates’ positions; usually wish to distance themselves from the stands taken by the national Democratic candidates and elected officers.
Special Elections:
Constitutional amendment ratification elections often conducted during special elections, as are elections to fill unexpired terms in the legislature or in Congress or in city councils (lawmaking bodies with general powers). These vacancies are filled only until the end of the unexpired term or until the next general election, whichever comes first.
Non-partisan campaigns; majority of the vote is required to win (unlike a general election)
The Conduct and Administration of Elections:
Secretary of State, since 1967, has served as the state’s chief elections officer
--facilitates centralization; ensures that every statewide contest is on every county’s ballot
--interprets legislation, issues guidelines regarding elections
--actions must be approved by the US Dept. of Justice, per Voting Rights Act of 1965
--disburses funds to state/county executive committees to pay for primaries
--keeps election records for both the parties and the government
--receives certification of nomination from the parties
--serves with the governor and another appointee on board to canvass (examine in detail to ensure fairness and accuracy) the election results for state and district races.
*County-Level Administration: With the exception of the preparation of the ballot for statewide races, the counties conduct the general election. Three options for the administration of the elections given by the legislature to county governments:
--1) decentralized option: county clerk constructs the county/precinct-level ballot; board of elections (county judge, sheriff, clerk, and Dem. and Rep. county party chairs) arrange polling places and printing of ballots; tax assessor-collector processes voter applications and rolls; county commissioners’ court draws precinct voting lines, appoints elections judges, selects the voting machines, canvasses votes, and authorizes payment of expenses from the county treasury
--2) transfer of assessor-collector’s duties in the first option to the county clerk
--3) available since 1979, transfer of both the assessor-collector’s and clerk’s elections duties to a county elections administrator appointed for two years by the County Elections Committee (same membership as the board of elections in decentralized counties, minus the sheriff).
*Getting the Candidate’s Name on the Ballot:
Must be a party nominee or independent (e.g., cannot claim to be a Republican if not a Republican nominee selected in primary process)
--Major parties with >5% of vote for any statewide office in the previous election automatically gain access to the ballot
--Minor parties may petition to be included on the ballot
Independent presidential candidates must get signatures of the equivalent of 1% of total statewide votes for president in the previous election
Independent candidates for other offices must receive enough signatures to qualify based on the gubernatorial vote in the previous election (no local election may require more than 500 valid signatures to appear on the ballot by petition)
3rd parties often will try to receive at least double the # of signatures required in order to ensure they have enough valid signatures to meet the minimum.
--Write-in candidates must declare their intention to run with the secretary of state prior to beginning of absentee voting for general elections, 45 days prior to primary elections (in which case, the write-in campaigns are for party offices, only). Names must be posted at the election sites; no candidate may win if not properly registered.
*The Secret Ballot and Integrity of Elections:
Australian ballot (“secret ballot”) adopted in Texas in 1892
--names of all candidates from all parties on a single ballot, printed at public expense
--available only at the polls
--made mandatory statewide in 1903
Legal and political means of ensuring the fairness of elections—bipartisan election clerks and poll watchers. Recounts are possible, though only once, and at expense of the challenging candidates. No recount unless the margin of decision is 10% or less. Expenses for the candidates usually mean that the margin is 1% or less.
*Absentee Voting
Increase in absentee voting, especially since 1987
--easier to vote in person/mail
--longer absentee period/longer polling hours
--votes not counted until election day
--voting at county courthouse substations
*Early Voting
Available option for all registered Texas voters
--makes voting easier for everyone, convenient polling locations
--Increase in early voting %-wise, no increase in overall turnout
*Counting and Recounting Ballots
Machines make mistakes
--ballots not counted
--ballots counted for wrong candidates
--error in counting usually between 1%-2% -- Usually errors will offset each other; both candidates gain/lose roughly the same percentage-wise
County canvassing authority left to their own discretion in counting chad (on punch-card ballots)
Pyramidal structure to Texas government, governor at the top and thousands of local offices at bottom.
Much diversity in local campaigns between candidates (more likely to have diverse backgrounds, incomes, educations, etc.—local elections have more flair for the unusual and sensational—after all, Jerry Springer served as Mayor of Cincinnati, OH, for a term or so before he became what he is today).
Homogeneity among candidates for higher offices—usually middle-/upper-class, tied to business and professional groups/interests, financed by special interests
Party identification and incumbency the two biggest factors for determining who will win
--Republicans fare better statewide; Democrats, in inner cities and other more local areas, may do well => diversity in the Texas legislature
--Incumbents have advantage of weaker challengers, more financial support, and ability to claim to have done something for the folks back home through their service in office.
*Mobilizing Groups: Certain groups aligned with one particular political party (e.g., business interests/middle-class/Protestants = Republicans; teachers/minorities/Catholics and Jews = Democrats). Candidates of the major political parties are not always inclined to take strong stands on the issues important to these groups, prefer to work with them behind the scenes.
*Choosing Issues:
Taxes, education, crime, abortion always big issues in Texas politics
--issue emphasis and policy proposals will differ among candidates, though in the long run, all candidates are concerned about the same set of issues, generally speaking. Importance of issues to a candidate’s voters is identified through opinion polls (which may or may not be accurate).
*The Campaign Trail: Statewide candidates spend more time in urban areas to attract the greatest visibility; the wealthier campaigns will spend their money on media/advertising/negative campaigning. Local candidates will go where the most people in their district, county, or city are.
More $$ = more competitiveness, generally speaking, but not necessarily an automatic victory
--Open offices usually more competitive than offices in which one candidate is an incumbent.
--Marginal legislative and Congressional districts (where the incumbent won with <55% of the vote) are also more competitive than the legislative and Congressional safe seats.
Political Action Committees (PACs) raise $$ for interest groups, contribute $$ to candidates (interest groups, such as labor unions and corporations, are not permitted to raise their own campaign $$, and create PACs as a means of raising $$ to donate to candidates who will serve their interests in the state government). All PACs in the state of Texas must register with the secretary of state
Advertising expenditures during a campaign are extremely high, especially during prime-time broadcasting hours. Newspapers and billboards also can be expensive
*Control over $$ in Campaigns: Even with campaign financing reform laws, the amount of $$ spent in the typical campaign continues to increase dramatically. (In 2002, Rick Perry spent $30 million on his gubernatorial campaign, his opponent, Tony Sanchez, spent $70 million).
--Candidates must have an official campaign treasurer appointed before they may raise and spend money in an electoral contest
--Candidates and PACs may not receive cash contributions for more than an aggregate of $100 from any given donor
--Direct contributions from unions and corporations are forbidden (hence, PACs are created by these groups as a means of skirting the restrictions of the law)
--Disclosure of expenditures and contributions periodically is mandatory. Reports from each campaign may be purchased by anyone at the State Ethics Commission or the Secretary of State’s office
--Criminal and civil penalties for those who violate the campaign financing regulations
--Political parties may raise and spend “soft money”, with few restrictions, on behalf of candidates and issues.
--no limits on independent expenditures; government limits on spending apply only to publicly-financed campaigns.