Commentary: Texans Make History in Primary Election
On March 4, with the eyes of the nation and the world affixed on the Lone Star State, Texans went to the polls in record numbers. For my office, the mark of a great election is when the news stories the next day talk about the winners and losers of the races, rather than the election process itself. Thanks to dedicated election officials across the state, we were all able to wake up on Wednesday morning and read headlines about the electoral results, not the electoral process.
Texas has spent a great deal of time, energy and resources to ensure that our elections run smoothly, that they are fair to all candidates and that they provide accurate results. Election officials from all 254 counties share those same ideals with us and work hard training dedicated volunteers, testing election equipment and preparing for Election Day to ensure that the real winners on Election Day are the people of Texas.
There have been a lot of news reports on the confusion created by the party “caucus” process in our state. In fact, my office received numerous calls from Texans asking questions such as “how do I vote twice?”, “if I voted early, do I have to vote on Election Day too?” and “if I don’t go to the caucus, will my vote be canceled?” Many people simply did not understand the “Texas Two Step” process. As the Austin American Statesman editorialized this week, “Few understood the process, there weren’t enough sign-up sheets at many sites and some energized people left angry or frustrated or both.” This is a process governed by party rules, and I encourage the political parties to reexamine their rules concerning caucuses in light of some these concerns, knowing that I am happy to assist in whatever way my office can.
While the caucus process itself may be less than perfect, we should not let that take away from the great success we saw on Election Day. We had more than 4.2 million Texans cast a ballot in the 2008 Presidential primary, shattering the previous record set 20 years ago. Texans of both political parties were energized, motivated and more excited to participate in the process than they have been at any time in the last decade.
I am proud of Texans for showing their commitment to democracy, but I am most proud of the election officials across the state of Texas for conducting a smooth election. They are some of the most under-appreciated public servants we have in the Lone Star state and they deserve a huge pat on the back. Texas has led the way in implementing election reforms mandated by Congress thanks to the preparation, attention to detail and hard work of these elections officials and under their leadership we will continue to set the example for elections in our country for years to come.
Phil Wilson is Texas’ 106th Secretary of State and serves as the Chief Election Officer for the state.