How to increase voting in Texas
Pass laws that encourage, not suppress, participation
By Lydia Camarillo, For the Express-News
Published 8:23 am, Saturday, September 19, 2015 on MySanAntonio website
Published on Sunday, September 20, 2015, Express News Opinion Section
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Photo: BOB OWEN /SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS
Lydia Camarillo: Your vote is your voice.
Tuesday is national Voter Registration Day. Celebrate by making sure your family
registers to vote. Don’t stop there; do something to improve our state’s poor voter
performance.
Urge our governor and Legislature to make voting a value we respect. Let us change
the voting performance for all elections in Texas once and for all.
It’s simple; we can learn from other states that enjoy higher turnouts for presidential,
midterm and local elections.
States have the authority to determine their own laws to enhance voter participation.
Texas continues to pass laws that depress voter participation, while rejecting ones that
enhance voter participation.
In Texas, it used to be that an approval for any changes or actions having to do with
voting — including redistricting, implementing the voter ID law and eliminating or moving
polling sites from Latino and African-American centers — had to be granted by
the Department of Justice. As it stands, the Supreme Court last year declared the
preclearance formula unconstitutional in Shelby County vs. Holder .Structural barriers,
lack of political will and the violation of the Voting Rights Act all serve to dilute the voting
power of minority voters.
Congress can ensure that Texas continues to require preclearance by the Department
of Justice if it reinstates Texas and other jurisdictions as part of Section 4 of the Voting
Rights Act to protect voters from any violations of their voting rights.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ruled recently that Texas’ voter ID law
disproportionately impacts minority voters. This ruling is welcome.
Texas’ voter participation during general presidential elections ranks far behind states in
which investment is high to turn out voters. For example, Colorado’s 2012 turnout
performance ranked sixth in the nation.
In the 2014 midterm elections, Texas voter turnout was a pathetic 34 percent, far lower
than other “superstates” such as New York, California and Florida.
Texas registered voters do not go to the polls at the same levels as those who reside in
states that have made it easier to register to vote and cast a ballot.
For example, California voters have the option of voting by mail for every election
regardless of their age and whether they are traveling during the election phase. Last
year, Colorado for the first time in its history allowed voters to register up to and on
election day.
More Information
TX
Presidential
1996
2000
General
Election
Voter
10,550,678 12,365,235
Registration
Turnout
5,611,644
6,407,637
% Turnout
53.24
51
Registered
Source: Texas Secretary of state
TX
Gubernatorial
1998
2002
General
Election
Voter
11,538,235 12,563,459
Registration
Turnout
3,738,078
4,553,979
% Turnout
32
36
Registered
Source: Texas Secretary of State
2004
2008
2012
13,098,324
15,575,062
13,646,226
7,410,765
8,077,795
7,993,851
57
60
59
2006
2010
2014
13,074,279
13,269,233
14,025,441
4,399,068
4,979,870
4,727,208
34
38
34
The 2014 elections had the worst turnout performance of most states. Voters simply
stayed home, except in states such as Colorado. Moreover, Colorado voter registration
numbers increased compared to Texas, which lost voters who moved and did not reregister.
California recently passed a law to allow voters to take legal action to move their local
elections to coincide with midterm and presidential general elections if turnout is 25
percent below an even-year average.
For more than 40 years, the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project has
worked to eliminate the barriers that prohibit voters from exercising their right to vote. To
date, SVREP has challenged at-large systems and won 85 voting rights lawsuits.
We continue to make recommendations to the Legislature in every cycle to improve
voter registration and the states’ turnout performance.
SVREP, along with other civil rights organizations, asked the following of the 2015
Texas Legislature and will do so again in 2017:
 Change municipal and school district elections to coincide with presidential and
midterm general elections.
 Extend the early vote phase to two weeks, with two Saturdays and Sundays, and
until 9 PM. Secure voting sites at community college campuses, particularly in
Latino and African-American communities.
 Enforce Texas Election Code 13.046, which provides for school principals to
register students twice a year — with a fine for noncompliance.
 Allow for voter registration to take place on election day.
 Drop the volunteer registrar requirement to deputize. States such as California
and New York do not require volunteers to be deputized. Or, at the very least,
provide an opportunity for people to take the deputization class online.
 Allow voter registration online or by mail without restriction.
A healthy democracy is one in which its citizenry exercises its vote.
Texas can be the leader in voter participation rather than rank among the lowestperforming states. We simply must improve voter participation.
Su voto es voz. Your vote is your voice.
Lydia Camarillo is vice president for the Southwest Voter Registration Education
Project.