The first week of early voting is wrapping up in Texas ahead of Election Day on Nov. 8.
Early voting began on Oct. 24 and runs through Nov. 4. Experts say that historically voter turnout for midterm elections is generally not as high as in presidential elections. There are ongoing efforts to get more voters to the polls.
One event Saturday was hosted by Hey, Chica, a non-partisan group focused on advocacy, self-care, and leadership. Veronica Torres Hazley founded the group in 2018.
“Four years ago, I was told there’s no money spent around Latinos to vote because they don’t vote. I felt a little offended too because I like to be spoken to. I like to be seen, I thought,” Torres Hazley said. “We just want people to get out and vote. Choose your person. Choose your issues and just practice that.”
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The event Saturday served as an “immersive brunch” with about 70 voters. The group discussed issues uniquely impacting Hispanic communities in Texas. Torres Hazley said a big component of their movement is education.
“That’s the problem with Latinos. I think we’re stuck, stuck in the system because we don’t feel spoken to. We don’t know what we want to do. We don’t know what the issues are. We don’t really know the system,” she said.
Matthew Wilson, a professor of pollical science at Southern Methodist University, described the overall dynamic of the Governor’s race as “stable” this season. However, he added there were a few aspects political science experts are eying as it relates to Hispanic voters.
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“Do we see a continued movement of Hispanic voters towards the Republican party? And the other way. Do we see Democrats continuing to show strength in some of the more upscale, suburban counties that used to be Hispanic?” he said. “Where Hispanic turnout will be compared to past years, I’m not sure. Anecdotally, I don’t get that there is as much enthusiasm as there has in some years past.”
Overall, Wilson said voter turnout for both midterms and presidential elections are trending upwards recently. Much of that is the result of the increasing polarization of politics, he said.
“Republicans see the prospect of Democratic control as absolutely devastating and Democrats see the prospect of Republican control in the same way. That does tend to motivate people to get them to the polls,” he said. “We also see that for certain subsets of the democratic constituency, the Dobbs decision this summer was a motivator and that may be some additional voters to the poll. On the Republican side, there’s just a lot of anger with the Biden administration and their presumption Biden has mismanaged the national economy and national trajectory. That anger is driving them to the polls.”
Dallas resident Rebecca Acuna voted Saturday after the event with Hey, Chica.
“I’m an immigrant. I come from an immigrant family. I have watched people for so many years not casting a ballot, even if they were able to,” Acuna said. “The people that we vote for make decisions that impact all of us.”
Acuna voted with Dallas resident Melissa Hammonds.
“For me, it’s a duty as a mom. A lot of times, as I’m looking back at history, I see that the votes that were done 20 years ago are impacting me today,” Hammonds said. “Sometimes I think in the past, I’ve gotten frustrated. Like, I’m voting but I don’t see any change. But just trying to change my mindset, that’s really not just for me. Maybe the change is slower, and I might be able to enjoy the change but hopefully, my grandbabies will different world that I helped put into spot.”
Election day is Nov. 8. Find your registration status and polling location here.
IMPORTANT ELECTION DATES
Oct. 24 - First day of early voting
Nov. 4 - Last day of early voting
Nov. 8 - Election Day and the last day to receive a ballot by mail that is not postmarked (7 p.m.).
Nov. 9 (5 p.m.) - Last day to receive a ballot by mail that was postmarked by 7 p.m. on Nov. 8
