When Donald Trump was elected president in 2016, hundreds of thousands of Americans took to the streets across the country to protest the outcome. They lamented that voters had noted taken advantage of the opportunity to elect the first female president in our nation’s history. They complained that a self-aggrandizing celebrity with no political experience had defeated a lifelong political pro.
When the tables were turned four years later, more legions screamed that a tax-and-spend liberal had defeated the incumbent. To this day many remain in denial, insisting that the result must have been caused by widespread fraud, despite dozens of investigations and court rulings that have found otherwise.
History suggests that about half of those protesters, in both cases, hadn’t bothered to vote. They might have affected the outcome if they had.
Texas has a poor history of voting, ranking near the bottom of U.S. states with regard to turnout. In this year’s primaries fewer than 18% of eligible Texas voters cast ballots. That’s significantly lower than in 2020 when 25% of voters turned out, but it’s still nearly double the 2018 primary turnout of 9%.
Many factors are said to contribute, including the large number of elections that are held. From primaries, runoffs and special elections for state, local and national positions, not to mention referendums on bond issues, charter or constitutional amendments and the like, some people can cite burnout. Uncompetitive elections is another factor; until recently the Rio GrandeValley was a one-party region, with Democrats often running unopposed in the general election after winning their party primaries. Statewide, Republicans have held virtually all statewide elected offices for decades. Many voters obviously decide that if the results are foregone, they see no reason to vote.
However, fewer votes can weaken the candidate options, and the quality of our elected officials.
This general election will determine our country’s policy for the next few years, as both houses of Congress could go either way: Democratic Party control could continue current policies, while Republican victories could reinstitute policies from the previous administration.
Our Valley is a prime player in that political battle. Not only does this region remain central to most of the major campaign issues, including border security, immigration, national healthcare policy and the growing influence of Hispanics and other minorities, but the Republican Party has made it clear that changing party dominance in this region is one of its top goals. One only needs to note the mispronounced candidates’ names in campaign ads to see how much interest — and money — is coming from outside sources.
Valley residents can help that process, or fight it. But ultimately, it must be done at the voting booth.
Qualified voters should make sure they are registered, and then commit to casting their ballots in this election.
After all, the brief, simple act of voting makes a stronger statement than howls of protest and years of regret after the fact.
