At last, Texans get to vote in the long-awaited primary elections.
Months after ballots would normally have been cast and counted, Texans are heading to the polls to choose presidential, U.S. Senate, congressional, legislative and other candidates.Early voting in the May 29 primaries starts today and runs through May 25.But some worry that there may be a lackluster turnout because of the late date -- resulting from redistricting fights and legal battles that delayed the election twice -- as well the fact that the presidential nomination is essentially settled in both parties."The big excitement factor of 2008 is not here," said Tom Marshall, a political science professor at the University of Texas at Arlington. "There is no presidential election going on in Texas; this is not our regular time. ... This is not a feel-good year."Federal judges ... put the primary so late that we once again become irrelevant in Texas," he said. "The race was over before the road show ever came here. If our primary had been in March, we probably would have seen double [the turnout] we will see in May."But Marshall and other political observers say candidates in hotly contested races -- such as the battle for the U.S. Senate seat Kay Bailey Hutchison is vacating next year, as well as fights for the 25th and 33rd Congressional Districts, not to mention some increasingly heated Texas Senate and House races -- may well propel a substantial number of voters to the polls."There are a lot of contested races on the ballot," said Steve Raborn, Tarrant County's elections administrator. "I think we will get our typical primary election turnout."But I don't expected anything like the turnout in 2008."A look backFour years ago, presidential hopefuls in both parties campaigned their way through Tarrant County and statewide, sparking excitement about the elections and pushing a historically large turnout to the polls.That year in Tarrant County, nearly 200,000 Democrats weighed in on the Barack Obama vs. Hillary Clinton nomination battle and more than 100,000 Republicans cast ballots in the John McCain and Mike Huckabee contest, helping McCain clinch the GOP presidential nomination in the Lone Star State, Texas secretary of state records say."Even though Texas is a Republican-leaning state, the 2008 turnout was driven by the enthusiasm for the two Democratic presidential candidates, Obama and Clinton, who were still locked in a tight battle when we voted on March 4," said Adam Schiffer, a political science professor at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. "Only four states voted that day, so each candidate was able to make multiple visits to the state and fire up their supporters."This year, the Republican race is already over."A more typical turnout locally in a presidential year would have been the 2004 presidential primaries, when 30,372 Tarrant County Democrats went to the polls to choose John Kerry as their nominee and about 25,000 local Republicans mostly put their support behind President George W. Bush, who was seeking a second term, according to state election records.This month, more than 924,000 registered voters live in Tarrant County.Top of the ballotOn the Texas GOP ballot, most presidential hopefuls have dropped out of the race, leaving presumptive nominee Mitt Romney and a determined challenger, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Lake Jackson, as the two main choices.But right under that, nine candidates are running in a multimillion-dollar race for the Senate."The Republican Senate candidates are running an expensive, high-profile contest," Schiffer said. "However, with very few meaningful policy differences between them, they have resorted mostly to negative, personal attacks on their opponents. While such attacks can be effective at firing up the most active citizens -- the ones who would vote regardless -- they can turn off more moderate voters."A slew of congressional races statewide may draw voters to polls, none more so likely than the fight for the 25th Congressional District, which stretches from Tarrant County through Austin. Twelve Republicans, including Weatherford car dealer and former Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams and former Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams, are seeking the Republican nomination.And there's a heated race for Texas Senate District 9, which pits state Reps. Kelly Hancock of North Richland Hills and Todd Smith of Euless in the race to replace Chris Harris, R-Arlington, a race some say is crucial because the winner will help choose a new leader of the state Senate if Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst wins his bid for the U.S. Senate. There are a number of contested House races, including those to replace Hancock and Smith, as well as judicial, statewide offices and local races.As for the Democrats, Obama remains at the top of the ballot, with a few challengers, and four candidates are seeking their own chance to replace Hutchison.Democrats also have a number of contested congressional primary races, none more so than in the 33rd Congressional District, a newly drawn district that stretches from Fort Worth's Stockyards through Dallas' Oak Cliff section, which pits 11 Democrats from both sides of the Trinity River.Several heated state House races include the one to replace congressional candidate and state Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, in Texas House District 95 and the re-election bid of state Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth, who faces a strong challenge from Carlos Vasquez.Voting tipsElection officials have been working for the past week -- since early voting ended for the May 12 local city and school elections -- to reset about 1,000 voting machines and deliver them to early voting sites, many of which are different from the May 12 early voting sites."There probably will be some element of confusion for voters," Raborn said.In addition, redistricting may have changed the districts in which some people vote.Raborn said it's important for voters to check their voter registration cards, know what districts they vote in and read their ballots carefully."Do your homework beforehand," Raborn said."Know where your polling place is; check out a sample ballot."Anyone who hasn't received his or her voter registration card or believes that something isn't right may call officials at the Tarrant County Elections Center. But the time to ask about anything that doesn't seem right is before ballots are marked and turned in, Raborn said.Anna M. Tinsley, 817-390-7610Twitter: @annatinsleyHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
