Your Participation is Critical to the Process

Interested in what you can do as a Texas Ex heading into tomorrow’s primaries? Here are some quick thoughts: 

• Talk to friends and neighbors about who you support and why. 

• Volunteer at a polling location on Tuesday for a candidate you endorse.  

• Donate to a candidate you endorse. 

• Most importantly, if you did not get around to it in early voting—GO VOTE on March 5! 

Our systems of government are designed for people to have a voice by voting so that the people elected to office best represent the population they serve. Our form of democracy works best when citizen participation is high—we are a long way from that. 

In the 2022 primary election, Texas had a voting age population of 21,866,700, and only 3,029,773 (13.86%) Texans cast a ballot. Currently, major party primary election participation rates are not getting better, which results not only in sub-optimal representation, but also in greater voter apathy. 

Yet, major party primary elections may be the most important opportunity most voters have to shape an election. In Texas, many congressional, state senate and state house districts are weighted more Republican or more Democratic. Additionally, many seats do not have major party general election challengers. These two factors alone give a significant likelihood that in many cases the outcome of the election is truly determined in the major party primaries. 

One additional reason the major party primaries should matter to you is that the propositions on primary ballots are a substantial factor in determining each party platform that will inform policy decisions and serve as a guide to your elected officials as they represent you.  

The Texas Exes advocacy program's mission is to encourage alumni to participate—to be a factor— and to lead by engaging in the process on which our governments are founded. Many times, we ask alumni to participate in shaping legislation, encouraging lawmakers to make decisions that will benefit UT Austin, and we believe by doing so, the state. However, today we are encouraging you simply to go vote.  

The more Longhorns that participate in elections, the better it is for our state and nation, but also for our University. As alumni, we do have the power to change the world, and one of the most important ways in which you can do that is to make sure you cast your ballot tomorrow.  

Here is more information on where and how to vote: https://www.votetexas.gov/ 

Need to find out who represents you? Check Here.