Written by Michael Thervil
Congresswoman Shelia Jackson-Lee (D) and Texas Senator John Whitmire (D) running for Mayor of Houston Texas
The City of Houston is known for many things such as the world-famous Astros baseball team (MLB), Slab Culture, Rap-A-Lot Records, and it's also home to the Texans football team (NFL). But now-a-days it seems like Houston Texas is known for something else – low voter turnout. There are many reasons for this issue occurring. Some will blame it on a vast influx of immigrants coming from Mexico that may not know how to read – or have the fear that they might get deported if they show up to the polling stations. Another reason could be that people are apathetic because they feel like their voice may not be heard. Some people blame it on “crooked politicians”. And then there are some people that may have become jaded because of the political process in both the City of Houston and America in general so they simply just don’t give a damn.
The question of the day is: is allowing people to vote really worth it or does it have the same relevance that it once did in the past? Many people in Houston seem to be struggling with these questions and more. For instance, in the early voting process for the 2023 Houston Elections, only 224,400 residents of Harris County voted in person and only 14,925 people voted by mail. Keep in mind that in a city of 2.288 million people that is nothing more than a drop in the bucket. Numbers like these are leaving Houston officials and political hopefuls scratching their heads.
Congresswoman Shelia Jackson-Lee (D) and Texas Senator John Whitmire (D) running for Mayor of Houston Texas
In another data set, which is expecting an estimated 285,000 voters the two democrat frontrunners: John Whitmire and Sheila Jackson-Lee only yielded together 196,225 voters with John Whitmire getting 106,638 (42%) and Sheila Jackson-Lee getting 89,638 (36%) respectively. With numbers like this it could be safe to say that people in Houston and around the country really don’t care about local elections and this sentiment is rolling into national elections as well. This occurrence is leading credit to people’s claims of not feeling as if anything will change if they vote in local elections no matter what side of the aisle they subscribe to.
Is it possible that people in Houston and the rest of the country have lost faith in the political process? It appears so – especially when you consider that political candidates, no matter what side of the aisle they’re on, boils down to who has the most money; and that person typically wins. It's literally just that simply for many Americans. Maybe it’s time for a change in the political process when it comes to elections on all levels. But then again, Obama did promise the American people change – and in the end they all ended up dealing with the same socio-economic conditions that they had before. It seems that elections on the local levels in Houston will also follow suit.
The old saying goes: the more things change – the more things stay the same.
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