Voting is habit-forming and high schools are critical for starting that pattern.
We the Texans
Texas is an economic and cultural powerhouse. It’s also among the least civically engaged states in America. This project explores how democracy is experienced and challenged here with a collection of stories that elevate the voices of regular voters, explainers that demystify elections and events where Texans share their concerns about the state’s institutions. Sign up for our bimonthly newsletter with the latest updates here.
Posted in
2024 Texas Elections
About 40% of Texas election administrators leave their job each presidential election cycle, report finds
Texas’ turnover rate has held steady at 40% since 2014. That’s slightly above the new national average.
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2024 Texas Elections
How a fraction of voters decide who runs Texas
In Texas, who’ll run the state is usually decided in the primary. Because of gerrymandering and noncompetitive elections, few people participate.
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We the Texans
In El Paso, apathy, alienation and discontent with candidates drives low voter turnout
Across this border city, which sees some of the state’s lowest voter turnout, many residents either didn’t know there was an election in March or had reasons for avoiding the polls.
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2024 Texas Elections
Republicans in a Texas county ditched technology and counted votes by hand. Here’s what happened.
The Texas Secretary of State and other election experts warned Gillespie County Republicans the process would be expensive, time-consuming and less reliable.
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We the Texans
I’m an elections reporter — and I just cast my first vote as a naturalized U.S. citizen
For a long time, I didn’t want to think or talk about elections or politics. That changed four years ago.
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We the Texans
“A hornet’s nest”: How one Texas elections chief is doing his job amid ongoing conspiracy theories
Gillespie County Republicans are moving forward with a plan to count votes by hand during the 2024 primary election.
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2024 Texas Elections
Analysis: It took me three tries to register to vote in Texas — and I’m an elections reporter
Moments after I became a naturalized citizen in 2023, I registered to vote. Here’s what happened next.
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2024 Texas Elections
Once hesitant, Texas Republicans have united behind Donald Trump again
While polls once showed Trump and DeSantis tied in Texas, they now suggest the primary is all but over here. Trump leads Nikki Haley by a landslide.
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2024 Texas Elections
Why this South Texas county closed half its early voting sites for 2024
A new law requires small counties to increase early voting days and hours — with no new money from the state.