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Texas saw record turnout numbersin last week’s presidential primaries, but it still had one of the lowest voting-age participation rates of the states that have held primaries so far.
More than 4.2 million Texans voted in the presidential primary race, the most in state history, according to the Secretary of State. However, among the 12 states that already have held primaries, Texas ranked second to last in voter turnout of residents 18 and older, at 21.5 percent.
The Lone Star State came ahead of only Louisiana, where 17.3 percent of residents of voting age participated in elections there Saturday. Louisiana, unlike Texas, uses a closed system for presidential primaries, meaning a person must be registered as a Democrat or Republican before the election to be able to vote in one of the party's primaries.
Rice University political science professor Mark Jones said low Democratic turnout and Texas’ diverse population accounts for the state's low percentage.
