Low Voter Turnout In Texas

Voter turnout in Texas is ranked amoung the lowest in the states. However, there are several reasons for this. Over the years political scientist have dicovered that education, income, and age have a lot to do with overall voter turnout. People who are better educated, have higher incomes, and are older are more likely to care about politics and actually vote.

The current version of the Texas constitution is the six version by which it has been governed under since it was framed by the Constitutional Convention of 1875 and adopted on February 15, 1876. This version of the constitution is based on the U.S constitution that came into play in 1789 since its ratification. Like many states, the Texas constitution is rigid and includes to many explicit details. When drafted, the conditions used to help shape the writing of the constitution were very different, especially for the old Confederacy. As a result, the Texas constitution is often ridiculed because of its lengthiness and anonymity that results in frequent constitutional amendments. Many endeavors for reform of the constitution

Texas has been through a lot of changes and constitutions. After constants debates of what the constitution should be, the current Texas constitution was established in 1876 and is the 7th constitution Texas has had. It created 3 branches of government: Legislative, Executive, and Judicial. The current constitution has great qualities, but it also contains a lot of weaknesses that shouldn’t be ignored for the sake of pride.

The state of Texas has had six constitutions. The constitution that took effect on February 15, 1876 is the current one still used today. The Texas Constitution is the second longest constitution in the United States, and one of the oldest still in effect. Since the constitution has been adopted it has been

Voting has not always been as easy as it is today. It is interesting to examine how far America has progressed in its process of allowing different types of people to be able to vote. Voting was once aimed at a particular group of people, which were white males that owned their own property. Today, most people over the age of eighteen can vote, except for the mentally incompetent or people who have been convicted of major felonies in some states. The decline of voter participation has always been a debate in the public arena. According to McDonald and Popkin, it is “the most important, most familiar, most analyzed, and most conjectured trend in recent American political history (2001, 963)” The question is, how important is voter

The amendments can be ratified by a simple majority of the people. Every 20 years, the people of the state are asked if a constitutional convention needs to be called to amend the constitution. A convention is called if majority of the people vote on having a convention. The Texas Constitution can be amended if two-thirds of members in both houses of the state legislature propose it, and the majority of the people vote on it in an election. Just like the Constitution of Maryland, the Texas amendments can be ratified by a simple majority of the people. Unlike Maryland, Texas is one of the six states that do not hold constitutional conventions

In the last half of the twentieth century, voter turnout in federal elections has declined. During the same period, voter turnout has been higher in presidential elections than in midterm elections.

In our system of government we are privileged with the option to take part in the political process that runs the country. It is our right to vote that lets the people influence change in policy and set the guidelines that politicians must follow to be elected representatives. This precious ability, which is most coveted in most non-democratic countries, is taken for granted in our own.

There are numerous varieties of election races in Texas. The state Constitution and the political society in Texas together have made a framework of our legal system that welcomes Texans to pick applicants for a great numerous public offices in all levels of the government inside the state. The Constitution needs direct election for different state offices inside the executive branch and inside the legal system of the judicial branch, likewise with respect to various county level offices. A few legislative activities oblige changing the Constitution, that also needs special established constitutional amendment elections. Numerous metropolitan and other local offices are filled

There are multiple reasons why Texas has low voter turnout in their elections. Through our reading we find out there was at least nine different reasons and a detailed analysis. While the top two and most important factors on whether or not a person would show up to vote, had to deal with their education and their income. Texas has one of the easiest registration processes and also the state has an early voting procedures. You would estimate or gather that there should be a high turnout of voting due to those factors alone.

The current Texas Constitution was ratified in 1876. It was a natural and necessary reaction to the previous constitution which was imposed by carpetbaggers and radical reformists. The new constitution better represented the political culture of home-grown Texans: limited government and maximum freedom of the citizens. This constitution not only limited the power of government, it also limited governmental terms and set the salaries of government officials. Farmers and [then] conservative democrats were primarily responsible for the current Texas Constitution.

“From 1972 to 2012, citizens 18-29 turned out at a rate 15 to 20 points lower than citizens 30 years older” from this data we can conclude that age is a demographic that affects voter turnout (What Affects Voter Turnout). Voting laws such as those of identification or registration impact voter turnout. For example, the introduction of early voting was meant to increase voter turnout, but has in fact decreased turnout (What Affects Voter Turnout). In response to the argument that the system lowers voter turnout rate, one should take the many other variables that contribute to turnout into account.

There has been seven Texas Constitutions since 1827 including our current Constitution, which was established on 1876. Our current constitution has been amended hundreds of times because of its tight restrictions. The Legislative department is the dominant branch of the Texas Constitution it is subject to check and balances in the tripartite system. The Executive department limits the government’s power, and the judicial powers is divided into smaller courts. These three branches of the Texas are examples of how restricted and limited our constitution is.

Since the United States of America established itself as its own self-governing country, one of the things that caused it to be salient and stand out from other countries is its relentless insistence on functioning as a democracy. Wars and protests have occurred so that every type of people, whether it was women or African Americans, may be granted the right to vote. Having a say in the American government is an honor and a privilege bestowed upon American citizens when they reach the age of eighteen. However, in recent years, statistics have shown that voter turnout and participation in recent elections has been rapidly and steadily declining, causing the United States to have the lowest voter participation in the world (“Is the System

The U.S Constitution gives the states considerable latitude in the way of conducting elections. The American citizens have many opportunities to vote. However, a turnout in American elections has dramatically decreased over the past several decades. In order to address this issue, majority of states have allowed absentee voting reforms. These convenient reforms are thought to increase the voter turnout in the elections, as well as to reduce administrative costs.