An ironic form of voter suppression. Tire voters out.
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Call it election overload, voter fatigue, or voter burnout.
Voting, expressing our feelings, joining as one, is a right in America. Yet, year after year, voter rolls are getting smaller, and turnout is so small that a small percentage is making decisions for millions. Texas is not immune. In fact, the election schedule is so heavy that it could even be the problem, one Harris County official says.
"In terms of why there are such a low percentage of voters, there could be various reasons why. Next month will be six elections Harris County has conducted, six elections since last November, back-to-back-to-back-to-back," said Harris County Clerk Tenisha Hudspeth. "November, December, March primary, May 4th special, now the runoff, and then another runoff in June."
In Tuesday's election in Harris County, the largest county with the largest city in Texas, nearly 50,000 people made the decisions for almost five million.
Hudspeth said she would be interested in hearing conversations about minimizing the days of elections and what’s on the ballot at the same time.
"But that's not up to me, and I think that is up to the legislature here in the state of Texas to have more conversations about elections,” Hudspeth said. “How they impact this state, how they impact this county, what's productive for voters in the state of Texas. What I can tell you is there's a legislation session that's coming up next year. And I think voting and elections is always on the table in the state of Texas, that's just the reality."
Hudspeth said that because the election included a short ballot, she feels many voters are choosing to wait until November for the all-important state-wide and national elections.
The upcoming June 15th election is a bi-annual vote, where voters elect representatives in cities, school boards and water districts, and other governing bodies.
- Voter Suppression.
- Voter Fatigue.
