Elections in texas

How does Texas rank in relation to other states in terms of voter turnout in midterm elections? What do you believe should be the role of state government in safeguarding elections for voters, if any? 

Midterm elections in the United States have been marred by relatively lower election turnout as compared to the presidential elections turn out. However, Texas as a state has been recording the lowest or the worst voter turnout (Fraga 31). Records show that only one voter out of three eligible and registered voter turnout to vote in the state of Texas.  These figures are so low that they are only comparable to the low voter turnout that was registered in Washington D.C., which is a non-state and residents of that area have no representation in the United States House or Senate. These low figures in voter turnout should worry the Texas state government. For this reason, they should come up with measures that can help safeguard the elections for the voters. They should start by coming up with educations or civic education programs that would be geared towards educating the voters on the importance of turning out in good numbers to vote in good leaders who can help develop the state and safeguard the interests of the voters (41). It is important for the voters to understand that by them not voting on Election Day, they indirectly elect leaders who do not have their interests at their hearts.   

Provide a brief (clear and concise with elaboration of statements) summary of the article. Overall, do you believe that the information in the article are valid? What is your opinion of the information provided by this news source? (Do you believe that the information is credible?) 

The article starts by claiming that Texas governor Gov. Greg Abbott has been filling all vacant positions in the state’s judiciary with judges that are loyal to the Republican Party (Vertuno 01). The article goes on to state that the judges that are being reappointed into the state’s courts are the ones that have lost in elections and are finding favor with the governor who uses the powers vested upon him by the laws of the state to choose whoever he wants to appoint as a judge (Vertuno 01). This might sound strange to a person who believes that judges should be chosen through meritocracy and they should be bipartisan, as this is one of the biggest ingredients that go a long way to ensure justice in court rulings. Nevertheless, this is not the case. 

The article is right when it states that the Texas governor is filling the court with judges who will pull his bidding (Vertuno 01). Recently the United States held the presidential elections that it is alleged that Russians heavily influenced it through hacking the election systems. Even though this has not been proven yet, it indicates that the elections were not credible and verifiable. This same issue is happening in Taxes albeit differently. Judges that have been rejected find their way back to the bench to serve the people who rejected them. 

Based on course topics, why is this topic relevant to the study of government? (This means that you need to make a connection between the article\’s topic and at least one topic in the course and provide evidence.) Why is this topic relevant to society as a whole?

This is an important topic in the study of governance. Governance revolves around ruling and governing people. For this reason, it is vital for the people to have played a very important role in determining the people to govern them through elections. For this reason, elections should be conducted regularly and measures should be put in place to ensure that elections are free and fair and that the results are credible and verifiable (Fraga 21). Other measures should also be put in place to ensure that voters are educated on the importance of voting to guarantee that all eligible voters are registered. The voters should turn out to vote in their leaders. This is vital as it would give the leaders the legitimacy that they have been elected by a majority of the people (Fraga 22).    

Work Cited

Vertuno, Jim. (2019). Texas governor fills courts with GOP judges voters rejected. Retrieved from https://cbsaustin.com/news/local/texas-governor-fills-courts-with-gop-judges-voters-rejected

Fraga, Benard. (2019). The Turnout Gap: Race, Ethnicity, and Political Inequality in a Diversifying America. London, UK: Cambridge University Press, print