Just a reminder that early voting in Texas for our deliberately misplaced referendum-only special election ends tomorrow night. (I did my civic duty on Friday, in case you’re curious.) As that article notes, turnout for elections like these generally sucks, so your vote will carry more weight than it normally does.
In the past six constitutional amendment elections, turnout has ranged from 6.9 percent to 12.6 percent. The high came in 1993, when a special election for U.S. senator also was on the ballot.
In 2002, there were about 12.5 million registered voters. A turnout of 7% based on that number means about 875,000 ballots will be cast. That may sound like a lot, but it’s maybe 5% of the voting age population and just barely 4% of the state population. The voting on Prop 12 is sure to be close. A little more that two percent of people living in Texas will decide it. You want to make a difference, here’s your chance. If you need to be reminded why voting against Prop 12 is The Right Thing To Do, read this and this. For guidance on the other propositions, check out Byron’s recommendations. The actual election date is Saturday the 13th in case you miss early voting.
For a perspective from the other side of the aisle, I’m going to be giving my recommendations all this week over at my blog.
My favorite part of the Chron editorial you recommend is the suggestion that the proposed constitutional amendment is constitutionally questionable.
Sort of like the Comical’s journalism is journalistically suspect much of the time, I guess. 🙂
Well, I suppose they meant that it’s US Constitutionally questionable. But yeah, that’s an awkward construction, to say the least.