Texas Politics & Government: Ideas and Institutions

With the publication of the Texas Lyceum Poll of adult Texans and the UT/Texas Tribune Poll of registered voters in Texas in February 2020, it is possible to compare the two populations. First, the Texas Lyceum Poll of adult Texans, of whom 75 percent are registered voters. The chart depicts the percentages of adult Texans that are in each of the seven categories of partisan affiliation. Second, the UT/Texas Tribune Poll of registered voters in Texas. The chart depicts the percentage of registered voters in each of the seven categories of partisan affiliation. Before comparing the differences in the categories of partisanship, it's important to note that there are also differences between adult Texans and registered voters in Texas in terms of interest in politics and public affairs. The table demonstrates the differences: Most importantly, whereas 88 percent of registered voters are either extremely or somewhat interested in politics and public affairs, 75 perce...

The 86 th Texas Legislature created a commission to study the partisan election of judges in Texas. The specific charge to the commission: The study must consider the fairness, effectiveness, and desirability of selecting a judicial officer through partisan elections; the fairness, effectiveness, and desirability of judicial selection methods proposed or adopted by other states; the relative merits of alternative methods for selecting a judicial officer. The TCJS is required to submit a report on its findings and recommendations to the governor and the legislature no later than December 31, 2020. The commission held its first meeting on January 9, 2020. During that meeting, the chair—David Beck—introduced the members and formed three subcommittees—Appointments and Confirmations Committee, Citizens Panels and Judicial Qualifications Committee, and Elections Committee. The fifteen members of the Commission, who were appointed by the Governor (4 members), Lieutenant Governo...

With a New Year, there are always resolutions: commitments to do something differently or something new. This is my resolution: It's time for state and local politics in Texas to be elevated in terms of analysis. That is not to say that there are not credible and conscientious analyses of Texas politics now. They can be found, but scholarship on Texas politics is not readily. So, if you're an academic or political activist who loves to investigate and analyze politics, then join my quest to elevate state and local politics in Texas. For me, an academic is anyone who studies politics as a science, seeks answers to interesting political questions, and loves to write and exchange ideas. I count my students among that group. I have read enough thoughtful and well-organized student papers to know that to be true. You can email me at shaag78749@gmail.com with your idea of what issue you wish to address and a little about your background and sources of information about politics....

I predicted that voter turnout would be less than ten percent, and I was wrong. My error was in assuming that the early vote would constitute a larger share of the total vote than it did. Usually, more than half of the total vote is the early vote. In this election, only 40.09 percent of the total vote was the early vote. The total vote of 1,972,842 constituted 12.36 percent of the registered voters (15,962,988). Nine of the ten constitutional amendments were adopted, which means that the current number of constitutional amendments rises to 507. The only amendment that was not adopted was Proposition 1, which would have allowed municipal judges to hold more than one elected judicial position. The highest voter turnout was for Proposition 4, which amends the constitution to prohibit a tax on the incomes of individuals. The amendment that was adopted with the highest percentage of votes was proposition 10, which allows police dogs to be adopted by their handlers after the dog is retired ...

The UT/Texas Tribune Poll for October 2019 shows little movement in party identification among Texas' registered voters. PID of Texas Registered Voters

Tomorrow, November 5, 2019, is Election Day. If you haven't voted early (as I did), then you need to get to any polling place in Travis County (if you're registered in Travis County) and cast your vote on ten constitutional amendments, one county proposition, and other issues, depending on where you reside. I know, "Why should I vote?" Do the issues affect you? Yes, they do. There are several constitutional amendments that could affect you or people that you care about. For me, the most important constitutional amendment is Proposition 4, which, if adopted, will place a prohibition on an income tax in the Texas Constitution. I know that Texans hate an income tax. What are the alternatives if additional revenue is needed by the state to fund such essential services as public education, higher education, health care, transportation, as well as others that you can probably think of? Only 4.98 percent of Texas' nearly 16 million registered voters have voted early....

Friday, November 1st, marked the end of early voting. The early vote in all 254 Texas counties came very close to five percent of registered voters in Texas, who number nearly 16 million. The fifteen largest counties produced a slightly lower voter turnout percentage. With only Election Day left for additional participants, the total vote will probably be less than ten percent of registered voters. Here is the chart from all 12 days of early voting in the 15 largest counties in terms of registered voters: