Read chapter 5: "Campaigns and Elections" down below.

Familiarize yourself with the following concepts and answer the questions below.

Features of Elections in Texas

Elections are the most important vehicles by which the people express themselves in the democratic process in Texas.

• Primary Elections
  • Primary elections are the first elections held in an electoral cycle. They are the means by which citizens select a party's nominee for the general election.
  • Technically Texas has a closed primary because voters must declare an affiliation before voting, but in practice the primary is an open primary since voters can assert their affiliation at the time of casting their ballot.
• General Election
  • In the general election, the candidates from each party for offices such as governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, and so on face each other to determine who will win the office.
• Special Elections
  • Special elections are used to fill vacancies in office, to give approval to borrow money, or to ratify or reject amendments to the Texas Constitution.
• Running as an Independent
  • Very few candidates in Texas run as independents, as there are substantial requirements to get one's name on the ballot, both in terms of the numbers of signatures required and who can sign a petition.

Participation in Texas Elections

• The Rules: Who Can Vote?
  • Women gained the right to vote in primaries and conventions in 1918, and the right to vote in all elections in 1920 because of the Nineteenth Amendment.
  • African Americans and Latinos faced significant hurdles to the ballot through much of the twentieth century due to poll taxes, early registration, and the white primary.
  • Supreme Court decisions and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 helped abolish these barriers.
  • However, critics maintain that voter ID laws are once again restricting minority voting, though the evidence is mixed.
• Redistricting: Where Do People Vote?
  • Every 10 years, after the census, reapportionment determines how many congressional districts each state will receive based on the state's population. These districts are determined after reapportionment through a process called redistricting, which is often used to favor the party in power to help entrench their control.
• Turnout: Who Votes?
  • In most elections, fewer than 50 percent of U.S. citizens vote. Even fewer Texans exercise their right to vote, especially young people. Texas ranks last in the nation in voter participation. Education and income appear to be the two most important factors in determining whether someone votes. African Americans have the highest turnout rates in Texas, while Latinos tend to have the lowest.
• The Importance of the Republican Primary
  • In the era of Republican dominance of Texas, the winner of the Republican primary will almost certainly be the winner of the statewide election.

Campaigns

• Candidates: Who Runs?
  • Candidates from all walks of life run for office in Texas. Incumbents have the advantage in most races.
• Money
  • For statewide offices, candidates need to raise significant amounts of money to get their message out. Republicans dominate Democrats in terms of money raised for most offices.
• Outside Groups
  • Outside interest groups use a variety of means to influence campaigns to pursue their agendas.
• Parties
  • In Texas, the parties do not have a major role in running political campaigns, leaving these responsibilities largely up to the candidates themselves, including fund-raising.
• Strategy
  • In Texas races, evidence suggests that campaign ads are the decisive factor and are an important part of campaign strategy.
• Important Issues in Texas Campaigns
  • Gun rights, immigration policy, education policy, and the relationship between Texas and the federal government have all been significant issues in recent elections in Texas.
• Media
  • A variety of local and statewide media cover Texas campaigns, and candidates make every effort to advertise their campaigns through these outlets.

1. Early voting has been used by many states to increase turnout in elections. However, in some states, voting starts so early that some citizens are allowed to vote for president before the first presidential debate. Do you think people should be allowed to vote before getting to see everything that happens during the entire campaign? What happens if someone votes early only to find out some very negative news about his or her preferred candidate later?
2. Do you think that if Texas had fewer elections, voter turnout would increase?