Vote Less, Yeehaw More!

Yet Another Election in Harris County: Why Can't Texas Get Its Act Together?

Voters in Harris County are heading back to the polls this week for a runoff election to decide who will sit on the county appraisal board. Yeah, we're as tired of voting as you are, folks. This is the fourth time Harris County residents have had to trudge to the polls this year.

"Enough with the elections already! I have a life, you know? Well, maybe I don't anymore, because every time I turn around, it's time to vote again." - Anonymous Harris County Resident

Texas seems to enjoy spreading its elections willy-nilly throughout the year. It's like the state government thinks we have nothing better to do than stand in line to cast a ballot. Here's a news flash: we do have lives! And we'd like to get on with them.

The current system is a mess. It leads to low voter turnout, which gives special interest groups more power to manipulate the results. It's also a burden on election officials, who have to deal with constant turnover and a never-ending stream of elections.

Take the current Harris County Appraisal District Board of Directors election. It's important because it could influence how property taxes are assessed. But you know what? Most people don't care, and turnout is expected to be so low that a handful of special interest groups could decide the outcome.

"I'm so sick of elections that I'm thinking of moving to a country without democracy. At least then, I wouldn't be bothered to vote!" - Another Fed-Up Harris County Voter

It's time for Texas to consolidate its local and state elections into a single, uniform election date. Let's give voters a break and give power back to the people, not special interest groups. And let's give our election officials a chance to catch their breath.

enough already, Texas!

Links:

• https://honestelections.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Model-Bill-Uniform-Election-Dates.pdf
• https://www.harrisvotes.com/Election-Results/Archives
• https://www.dallascountyvotes.org/election-results/historical/
• https://ballotpedia.org/Off-cycle_elections
• https://electionlab.mit.edu/research/election-timing
• https://www.fox7austin.com/news/leander-city-council-runoff-election-came-down-four-votes
• https://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/leander-tx-population
• https://www.leandertx.gov/DocumentCenter/View/3193/e2024_canvass_general?bidId=
• https://hcad.org/about/
• https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/politics/election-2024/2024/06/03/489447/harris-county-appraisal-district-board-seats-up-for-grabs-as-early-voting-begins-for-latest-election/
• https://files.harrisvotes.com/harrisvotes/prd/Reports/Official-Cumulative-Results-5-13-2024_04-07-21_PM.pdf
• https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ahNOZggHrPxqfWBhb-Eguxj3ZjxNZTtH/view
• https://nowpublishers.com/article/Details/QJPS-11056
• https://www.bc.edu/content/dam/bc1/schools/mcas/polisci/pdf/pubs/off-cycle-and-out-of-sync-how-election-timing-influences-political-representation.pdf
• https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/09/election-administrator-turnover-rates-increases/
• https://www.eac.gov/sites/default/files/2023-06/2022_EAVS_Report_508c.pdf
• https://www.kxan.com/state-of-texas/state-of-texas-the-job-is-hard-counties-struggle-to-find-poll-workers-as-election-nears/
• https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/politics/2022/03/08/420614/harris-county-republican-leaders-press-to-have-the-elections-administrator-fired-after-primary-nights-vote-count-debacle/