One day of early voting is in the books. I’m not going to follow the EV reports every day, as this is as off a year as we get in our election cycle, but I will check in a couple of times. I will also use this opportunity to provide some context, by looking at the turnout levels in the only two previous years where there were no regular city elections, 2017 and 2021. The numbers:
2021 total turnout = 229,036 total votes out of 2,482,914 registered voters, for 9.22% total turnout.
2017 total turnout = 150,174 total votes out of 2,233,533 registered voters, for 6.72% total turnout.
It should be noted that in 2017 there were city bond elections, including pension bonds to finish off the pension reform legislation that Mayor Turner had pushed. There was also that oddball allow booze in the Heights referendum, the likes of which we may never see again. That had the effect of skewing turnout up a bit – looking just at the citywide results, turnout in the Harris County portion of Houston was 9.49%, which means that turnout in the rest of the county was 4.26%.
There was nothing in particular pushing people to the polls in 2021 – nothing citywide, anyway. Maybe that’s the more “normal” level for these weird years, or maybe it was a high point, I don’t know. I do think we’ll exceed that level this year, given the high profile of the CD18 election, plus the At Large #4 race. We’ll see.
Here’s the Day One EV report for this election. There were 10,702 in person ballots and 3,268 mail ballot, for a total of 13,970. I don’t have a point of comparison for you and I’m not going to check this daily, but we’ll tune in later and see where we are compared to the final totals from those other years.
Finally, if you’re still trying to make sense of the Constitutional amendments on the ballot, the following is from my friend Susan, who sends out a thorough and thoughtful email of her election recommendations for March and November. It’s a great and concise summary of the propositions and how to vote on them. Read and enjoy:
My sources: League of Women Voters’ Voters Guide and explainer videos, Austin Chronicle’s guide, and Progress Texas’ guide.TL;DR:Austin Prop Q: YesTX Prop 1: NoTX Prop 2: NoTX Prop 3: NoTX Prop 4: YesTX Prop 5: No (barely)TX Prop 6: NoTX Prop 7: YesTX Prop 8: NoTX Prop 9: Toss upTX Prop 10: YesTX Prop 11: NoTX Prop 12: NoTX Prop 13: NoTX Prop 14: YesTX Prop 15: NoTX Prop 16: NoTX Prop 17: NoThe full story…Austin Prop Q: Yes. I’m willing to pay for parks, low-income housing, and maintenance. Increasing taxes to do so is just how government works, and the benefits outweigh the cost, here.TX Prop 1: No. I struggled with this one. I like education programs, but this money could go to existing community colleges instead of reinventing the wheel on new institutions.TX Prop 2: No. A solution in search of a problem. We don’t tax capital gains at all in Texas, and we’re exceedingly unlikely to do so. This is marketing for businesses to relocate or remain here.TX Prop 3: No. Another solution in search of a problem. Judges already have the power to do this, and we don’t need a law that will only make things more rigid and undermines the presumption of innocence before the law.TX Prop 4: Yes. This is a transfer of funds to the TX Water Development Board, and while it is a governor-appointed board, they are specialized in the field, and I trust them more than I trust the TX Lege to do the right things for water needs in the state.TX Prop 5: Toss up. On the one hand, inventory of other businesses are taxed as personal property, so why should ag get an exemption? On the other hand, animal feed is part of the food chain, which has other parts exempted from property taxes. I lean to No, personally, but barely.TX Prop 6: No. Solution in search of a problem again. We don’t levy taxes on this, and there’s no indication that we ever will, so what’s the point of a ban?TX Prop 7: Yes. Applies to a small group, and it’s the right thing to do for widows/widowers of veterans who died as a result of their service, even if they did not qualify for full disability while alive.TX Prop 8: No. Solution in search of a problem. We don’t tax inheritance, and we’re not likely to. There’s no point in a ban.TX Prop 9: Toss up. This could help small businesses, and it could just move the tax burden around. I’m leaning No, but might change my mind in the voting booth.TX Prop 10: Yes. A temporary exemption for homes completely destroyed by fire. Fires are getting to be more common in our drought-prone state. I have no problem with this.TX Prop 11: No. While it helps elderly or disabled homeowners, it’s unstable and it would be better not to rely on the legislature to reimburse public schools. It’s not a hard no, but it’s a no for me.TX Prop 12: No. HARD NO. The commission doesn’t need to be expanded, and the expansion would be entirely appointed by the Governor, creating an imbalance in the commission in favor of the Governor and against the Texas Bar. Bad for Justice.TX Prop 13: No. Public schools are chronically underfunded. Another exemption won’t do much. This would be a small benefit to homeowners, but not enough to trust the legislature to do the right thing.TX Prop 14: Yes. This sets aside money for dementia research. A worthy cause.TX Prop 15: No. HARD NO. The push by Christian Nationalists to use “parental rights” to harm LGBTQ+ kids and ban DEI language is wrong, and shouldn’t pass.TX Prop 16: No. Also a HARD NO. A solution looking for a problem. You already have to be a citizen to register to vote, and this is just voter suppression.TX Prop 17: No. The border wall is stupid. Anything that incentivizes the wall is also stupid. Hard No.
I’ll have another update on election turnout later this week.