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Political Participation In Texas

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Recommended: Voter turnout in the 21st century

Political participation is defined by the authors of Texas Politics as “all of the opportunities we have as individuals or groups, associations, or political parties to join in shaping common life”. (Pg.52) Chapter 3 of Texas Politics discusses political participation in great detail, addressing virtually all aspects related to the evolution of political participation. Cal Jillson divides the chapter into several sections: The Evolution of Suffrage, Modern Voter Registration and Turnout, Decision to Vote (or Not), Political Campaigns, and finally, Types of Elections (Chapter 3). Suffrage is strictly defined as the legal right to vote (p.54). In 1902, a poll tax of $1.50 was employed by Texas. This poll tax was in place to make the minorities …show more content…

To be a qualified voter in Texas, you must be 18 years old, a citizen, and a resident of the state and county for at least 30 days. Qualified voters must have been registered at least 30 days before the election. Unlike other states, voters in Texas do not register as Democrats, Republicans or independents, but rather they simply register to vote (pg.60). Voter turnout is the amount of voting age people out of the total electorate that go out and vote in the election. The author says that Texans are generally poor voters. In a diagram, the US turnout in 2012 was 58.8 percent, while the Texas turnout was 49.0 percent …show more content…

A primary election is a preliminary election in which voters “select candidates to stand under their party label in a later general election” (pg.75). The two types of primaries are as follows: closed primaries and open primaries. A closed primary is defined as “a primary election that is open only to registered members of the sponsoring political party.” An open primary is defined as “a primary election that is open to the participation of any registered voter, irrespective of party affiliation” (pg. 76). The main difference between the two is that closed only lets people vote for a specific party, while open allows the voters to vote for any party they

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