A presidential election is like a two year-long sports season for current events junkies. This election is especially exciting and dramatic because the incumbent is impeached and running for reelection, but his vocal supporters seem unphased.
For the Democrats, support for the candidates is varying widely, with the campaign tactics becoming stickier and shadier whilst trying to discredit each other and win the nomination. It’s almost not worth citing a poll because new polls seem be coming out with contrasting information daily. While polls shift and commentators argue their reliability, votes will reveal who people want for their candidates for the presidency.
Voting in the primary, set for March 3, includes choosing party candidates for president, U.S. Senate, congressional and legislative offices, the State Board of Education, Railroad Commissioner and judicial seats. So even if one is not interested in choosing the Democratic nominee (President Trump is all but guaranteed to be the Republican nominee) there’s still issues of local importance worth our participation.
In Texas, one does not have to be registered with a party to vote for their nominee. There are many good reasons to still vote for a Democrat nominee, even if you are mostly decided to vote for President Trump again. Voting for the opposing candidate is an opportunity to say, “If I would vote with this party, these are values and policies I could support,” which creates a more competitive presidential race. Like a free market, democracy requires competition of ideas to thrive.
The deadline to register to vote in Texas is Feb. 3. Check voter registration status at Vote.org and enter name, address, date of birth and contact information. Early voting begins Feb. 18 and continues to Super Tuesday, March 3.
If one is living on campus, make plans to vote in your home county, or request an absentee ballot.
Voting is a privilege and a responsibility for Texas citizens, and information on how to vote is free and widely available online. There’s no excuse to not be invested in the future.