It’s the day after the Texas Primary Elections, which serves to narrow the field for the two major American political parties heading into the midterm elections in the fall. Here in Houston, which sits in Harris County, the results are posted online for the Republican Primaries and the Democratic Primaries as PDF files. A peculiar anomaly in the posting of the election results is how the totals are reported. At the top of each report is:
Republican: District Voters: 155,798 of 2,249,591 = 6.93%
Democratic: Number of District Voters: 167,396 of 2,249,591 = 3.72%
The total number of registered voters match up between the two reports, but while the Democratic numbers are slightly higher than the Republican numbers, the reported percentage is nearly half. Puzzling.
Most of the news have focused on the individual candidates vying for public office, but the party ballots also included a number of Propositions – statements which appear to reflect the party’s overall priorities and stances on certain issues. The primary election could also serve as a type of referendum on how party affiliated voters feel about them. The wording is distinctly different between the two parties. At least the Democratic Party used short subheadings to summarize each proposition. Voters in the Republican primary are more divided in the Propositions presented, with the topics involving abortion and replacing property taxes with consumption taxes both receiving over 30% against. Given that the wording is designed to appeal to tribal identity, this is pretty significant. There’s a glimmer of hope that even voters don’t want the abortion or “bathroom bill” to remain central to the Republican identity. Meanwhile, the loftier “Rights” wording of the Democrats seem to resonate fairly well with the electorate.
Republican Propositions
| Proposition | Description | For | Against | Total | %for | %against |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Replace property tax with consumption tax | 92,468 | 48,498 | 140,966 | 65.60% | 34.40% |
| 2 | No governmental entity should ever construct or fund construction of toll roads without voter approval. | 130,409 | 16,904 | 147,313 | 88.53% | 11.47% |
| 3 | Republicans in the Texas House should select their Speaker nominee by secret ballot in a binding caucus without Democrat influence. | 123,396 | 21,872 | 145,268 | 84.94% | 15.06% |
| 4 | Texas should require employers to screen new hires through the free E-Verify system to protect jobs for legal workers. | 132,206 | 14,896 | 147,102 | 89.87% | 10.13% |
| 5 | Texas families should be empowered to choose from public, private, charter, or homeschool options for their children’s education, using tax credits or exemptions without government constraints or intrusion. | 120,457 | 27,276 | 147,733 | 81.54% | 18.46% |
| 6 | Texas should protect the privacy and safety of women and children in spaces such as bathrooms, locker rooms, and showers in all Texas schools and government buildings. | 130,355 | 18,026 | 148,381 | 87.85% | 12.15% |
| 7 | I believe abortion should be abolished in Texas. | 91,786 | 53,209 | 144,995 | 63.30% | 36.70% |
| 8 | Vote fraud should be a felony in Texas to help ensure fair elections. | 139,556 | 9,248 | 148,804 | 93.79% | 6.21% |
| 9 | Texas demands that Congress completely repeal Obamacare. | 125,942 | 21,490 | 147,432 | 85.42% | 14.58% |
| 10 | To slow the growth of property taxes, yearly revenue increases should be capped at 4%, with increases in excess of 4% requiring voter approval. | 137,348 | 9,355 | 146,703 | 93.62% | 6.38% |
| 11 | Tax dollars should not be used to fund the building of stadiums for professional or semi-professional sports teams. | 129,860 | 18,179 | 148,039 | 87.72% | 12.28% |
Democratic Propositions
| Proposition | Description | For | Against | Total | %for | %against |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Right to a 21st Century Public Education | 153,406 | 5,586 | 158,992 | 96.49% | 3.51% |
| 2 | Student loan debt relief | 147,747 | 10,830 | 158,577 | 93.17% | 6.83% |
| 3 | Right to universal healthcare | 153,461 | 6,138 | 159,599 | 96.15% | 3.85% |
| 4 | Right to economic security | 152,653 | 5,682 | 158,335 | 96.41% | 3.59% |
| 5 | National jobs program | 147,703 | 8,719 | 156,422 | 94.43% | 5.57% |
| 6 | Right to Clean Air, Safe Water, and a Healthy Environment | 157,466 | 1,821 | 159,287 | 98.86% | 1.14% |
| 7 | Right to dignity and respect (antidiscrimination) | 153,465 | 5,179 | 158,644 | 96.74% | 3.26% |
| 8 | Right to housing | 147,590 | 9,614 | 157,204 | 93.88% | 6.12% |
| 9 | Right to vote | 152,838 | 5,884 | 158,722 | 96.29% | 3.71% |
| 10 | Right to a fair criminal justice system | 154,559 | 3,864 | 158,423 | 97.56% | 2.44% |
| 11 | Immigrant rights | 151,231 | 7,310 | 158,541 | 95.39% | 4.61% |
| 12 | Right to Fair Taxation | 153,060 | 4,753 | 157,813 | 96.99% | 3.01% |
