Texas election results for those interested

[Trek234]

Can be found here: http://204.65.107.70/03septgen.htm

"Our election night returns are updated every five minutes."

Precincts Reporting 51 of 6,701 Precincts

This is a government web site.

Details on the props can be found here: http://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/voter/2003sepconsamend.shtml

[Rose Siding]

1. What are props 8 and 18?

About taking office without election? Which offices?

[jburton]

2. Props 8

The gist:

8-If there are no opponents in an election, the one candidate will be selected rather than hold an election. (ie if only one person is running for office by deadline, than that person automatically wins.

[Trek234]

5. You leave out important details

Remember in regards to the military service prop - we are talking about an appointment. Remember that republicans could do the appointing.

Say you loose a dem to military service - do you really want that seat to be filled with a republican by appointment? Or would you like to elect another dem?

I don't like 8 because I can see bad things happening in a variety of situations... a whole lot of potential BS being pulled that repubs could do when they are up against a dem. (or potentially could be) As well as other situations - i.e. what if a candidate for whatever reason drops two days before the names must be in, and the party can't get a replacement in time? At least they could potentially have won by write in, but now that potential is gone.

[jburton]

7. I know

"Remember in regards to the military service prop - we are talking about an appointment. Remember that republicans could do the appointing.

Say you loose a dem to military service - do you really want that seat to be filled with a republican by appointment? Or would you like to elect another dem?"
------------------------------------

I know, way too many questions. That's why I voted NO on all the changes related to elections. Who knows what the current powers would interpret these as.

[sham]

8. some of these amendments are pretty scary

Several of them have vague language and are related to elections and replacing current elected officials (like the one related to millitary service). In addition to redistricting, the Pigs are trying to attach these laws to our Consitution (where they have no business being) in order to seize every crumb of power they can get their grubby hands on. These Pigs are truly repellant.

[gristy]

10. The Texas Constitution

the Pigs are trying to attach these laws to our Constitution (where they have no business being)

I read somewhere recently that TX puts ALL its state laws in its constitution (go figure...), so indeed, in Texas that IS where they belong.

[Trek234]

16. ,

,

[zoidberg]

41. It seems like it, but I don't think that's the case

The New York Times mentioned that on their front page today, but I think they were being playful with that language. Texas does have a damn big Constitution though.

[incontrovertible]

42. Yeah, basically

I don't recall offhand what makes a law need to go into the Constitution rather than just being a law. I belive voter approval is the determining factor, and also that it precludes challenge on State Constitutional basis - there was already a cap on jury awards for non-economic damages, but this was certainly going to be challenged up to the SCOT.

If the Legislature wanted an Income Tax, for example, that'd likely go to the voters as a proposed Constitutional Amendment. The Concealed Carry issue was first proposed as a Constitutional Amendment, but when Bush was elected, it was just passed as a plain-ol law.

[EX-CONservative]

35. Write-ins:

I don't know about Texas, but some states require write-in candiates to file at the same time as regular candidates. I know it's the case here in Florida.

Other states don't allow write-ins. Also, many people thing ANY write-in vote counts while in actuality only the votes of registered write-in candidates count.

Also, if there is only one filed candidate, that person is automatically elected. I assume Proposition 8 is the same thing. Here in Florida, some offices had the party nominee and a write-in and people were confused about the one-candiate office.

Write-in camapigns are usually a waste of time and the candidate gets way less than 1% of the vote.

There are three exceptions that come to mind:

1) 1954 SC U.S. Senate race. The incumbent died and the Democratic Party nominated a legislator in the general election. The GOP, in those days struggling to break 10% statewide, didn't even put a candidate on the ballot. Strom Thurmond ran as a write-in and won. However, he was popular, already held office and passed out pencils to the rednecks so they could remember how to write his name. (Remember: spelling counts in a write-in election!)

2) 1998 state Senate race in Tennessee. Longtime state Senator Tommy Banks (?) was murdered by his idiot opponent Byron "Low-Tax" Looper (yes, his legal name :eyes:) days before the election and his widow ran as a write-in. She was able to get organizational support from the local democrats and got stickers printed up to peel and affix to the write-in portion of the ballot. She won 94%-8% and Ol' Low-Tax is in jail serving a life sentence.

3) Tom Ammiano. 1999 San Francisco mayoral race. He was already an elected official and was able to mobilize support, which is EXTREMELY rare for write-ins. He made the runoff and made it into the runoff with current Mayor Willie Brown. He is a candidate in this year's election. The San Francisco election workers really earned their pay that year. :)

Hope this helps :)

[dusty64]

47. That sounds like another

REALLY bad idea.

[sham]

3. we voted on 22 amendments to the state consitution today

8 relates to an election in which there is only one qualified candidate. he/she would automatically win without an election, and he/she would be listed on the ballot as "declared elected" but you wouldn't be able to vote for/against him/her.

18 is basically the same thing but it would elect unopposed candidates without putting them on the ballot at all.

12 is by far the most important. it is an attack on our courts, and I'm a little freaked out because it's being favored 55.78% to 44.22% right now. (trying to remined myself not to freak out yet because less than 2% of precints have reported.)

juburton - you've got 18 confused w/22.

[jburton]

4. Ooops!

I did indeed have them mixed up.

Ugh, so far Prop 12 is passing. These are just early votes so far.

[Trek234]

6. Yes

Seems to be a close call so far though...

[jiacinto]

11. Yeah but it looks like 12 is going to prevail

71% of the precincts in and it seems to be ahead by enough votes to win.

[Ms. Clio]

9. local news reporting heavier than normal turnout for Dallas County

20% as opposed to usually about 5% for this type of election.

I must say I am disheartened to see Prop. 12 is passing.

[Ilsa]

12. Wow, Prop 12 is close!

It was 56% for Prop 12 according to the Austin American Statesman an hour ago. It is definitely too soon to write it off.

[mourningdove92]

13. I work in a hospital in Fort Worth.

The doctors there were all wearing Vote for Prop 12 buttons and even the hospital was sending out emails and offering rides to the polls.

I just bet that if I wore a Vote Democrat button to work, I would be severely reprimanded. Guess it just depends on who you are and what you stand for.

[Ilsa]

18. Same thing here.

I went to see my OB a couple of weeks ago and they have the literature plastered everywhere, including the dressing stall in the exam room, right next to the kotex (a peculiar combination).

[punpirate]

14. This ought to be of interest to everyone...

... since the Texas Republicans have been more aggressive in their attempts to consolidate power and create one-party rule than in perhaps any other state. What works in Texas this year (including the redistricting attempts) will be a model plan for attempts at the same thing elsewhere.

Cheers.

[LightTheMatch]

15. Smoked 'em in Travis

I have to say, we really smoked 'em in Travis. Our final vote margin (NO's beating YES's on Prop 12) was...

19,637 ... with only 82,163 people voting. That's 61.95% to 38.05% ...


Not to gloat, but the statewide people told us not to do say the things we were saying in our mail pieces and such, and we basically told 'em to screw off. Guess who was right?

[Ilsa]

19. What were the local bills saying about prop 12?

I got a half dozen really slick glossy bills in the mail on Prop 12, three-to-one promoting it. What message did your mailouts use that you think worked well?

[LightTheMatch]

20. 3 things -- local messages.

1) to Seniors -- we said "Older Texans are Just as Valuable as Everyone Else. Don't Let the Insurance Companies Tell You Otherwise."

2) to Strong Democrats -- we said "How Much is the Life of Your Family Worth? If Insurance Companies Get Their Way, Not Much"

3) to Strong Democrats -- we said "Prop 12 is Just Another Piece of the Puzzle... In the Republican Plan to Control Texas" - and we related Prop 12 to redistricting, etc. and other limitations of rights, basically the "stop the fascists" argument. The bottom of the back side said "Stop the Latest GOP Attempt to Limit Your Rights"


So, that was the mail. Plus, they were NOT slick and fancy-looking or anything like that, they looked basically very local and personal, very simple looks and language.

Also, we had *one hell of a phone bank operation* , which helps a LOT.

Lastly, we were probably the only county to allocate money and volunteers to do live calls to strong Democrats, but then we also did recorded calls to people who were just general election voters (no Democratic Primary History) in our strong precincts. We could definitely tell when they were going out because we started getting tons of calls asking where to vote from people with no primary history. That's one of the major reasons our turnout percentage was so good, comparatively.

The statwide anti-prop 12 message was extraordinarily weak : "Don't Mess With the Texas Constitution"...

[Ilsa]

21. Thanks.

You guys really hit it hard. If Prop 12 is defeated, I think that extra effort may be what pulls our position through and on top. I think our local group should check into your work work.

[LightTheMatch]

22. Unfortunately, I don't think it was enough.

I'm really disappointed with El Paso county and south Texas in general. I think that may be what cost us the win. Check the county by county results at:

County By County Results

It's embarrassing... we had basically no spanish-language program statewide that I could see... we lost El Paso, one of the most Democratic counties in the state. We only won Webb County by a few hundred votes. that's awful!

[LightTheMatch]

23. Plus, look at Bexar (San Antonio)

San Antonio, of all places, we lost... why????????

Things are very messed up down there, we keep losing elections for no reason, it seems. We should be winning every single election by a large margin in that county. In fact, the margins we get there should possibly be the largest in the state, maybe twice what you would be able to get from Travis, just from the sheer size of the place.

Texas needs a lot of fixin' ... and we've only got a couple more years to get it done.

[carpetbagger]

27. San Antonio has a huge medical community

That's probably why it carried.

[LightTheMatch]

28. We also lost San Antonio in November...

We should never lose San Antonio. The fact that it is happening consistently shows that we have some severe organizational problems there that we better take care of in a hurry.

[Ilsa]

24. As usual, my county went heavily

Republican. Almost 2 to 1.

I wonder what they'll have to say when they end up doing the suing?

[LightTheMatch]

26. Where's that?

Which county are ya talking about?

[Ilsa]

29. Victoria.

I think it was 1994. My dh and i went to vote. There were 500 votes cast in our precinct. Me and dh and two other people were the only ones out of five hundred to vote Democratic.

Even the poor people here vote like they're going to be rich Republicans tomorrow.

But I think the abortion issue is a big deal with most of them. They write crazy letters to the editor once a week about abortion causing breast cancer, terrorism, homosexuality, war, and global warming.

[LightTheMatch]

31. We'll talk about it tomorrow...

I will start a thread tomorrow about how we can fix Texas. I think this is something really important to discuss with everybody at DU.

[LightTheMatch]

17. KICK

You guys are right, this IS all a bellweather for the rest of the country, especially suburban vs. urban, and city vs. rural.

[LightTheMatch]

25. Current update, 11:21PM CST

IN FAVOR 690,779 50.93%

AGAINST 665,578 49.07%

Precincts Reporting 6,166 of 6,701 Precincts 92.02%

Statewide Turnout 11.26% of 12,041,793 Registered Voters

[carpetbagger]

30. 50.8% for w/ 94% reporting.

It's not a done deal yet. close, but not yet.

[redhead1954]

33. Thanks msanford

For letting me know about this group. I'm living down here in Matagorda County and have been feeling pretty alone. I did get to a Dem Club meeting this morning in Brazoria County, and even though I need to drive an hour and a half, I'll keep going back. This crap with Prop. 12 is very upsetting. I'm glad to know there are so many others who feel the same way I do about Goodhair.

Peace be with you,
Red

[sugarcookie]

37. Howdy neighbor!

I live Brazoria County! Where does your Dem Club meet?

[newyawker99]

45. Hi redhead1954!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Ilsa]

32. Look at Harris County...

Harris County (Houston) has only 686 out of 730 precincts reported yet, and they seem to be voting NO pretty heavily.

You're right: El Paso and Bexar county (San Antonio) are a huge disappointment.

[Ms. Clio]

36. But hey Dallas County was solidly against

That really surprised me. And voter turnout still higher than usual, it seems, if not quite as high as local news initially reported.

[mhr]

40. Dallas Morning News

Was Against Prop 12.

Surprised Me!

I voted No!

[Avalon Sparks]

44. Just FYI

The Dallas Morning News voter guide recommended voting NO on Prop 12...

That surprised me, and I wonder if it had any influence on Dallas voters...

[Trek234]

38. Makes sense

Seems like there was some effort here. I got physical mail about prop 12 even...

[sugarcookie]

39. We get local tv programming

from Harris county. There was a really good Vote No commerical airing last week. I know it had a real impact on my sister in Matagorda County.

Matagorda, Harris, Galveston, and Brazoria counties got the No votes. Fort Bend was real close. Galvestson county really kicked ass...YES 8,940 NO 14,042.

[Ilsa]

34. Nevermind.

[last_texas_dem]

43. Disappointing

Just checked, 1:23 AM CT, and saw Prop. 12 passing 51-49 with 97-percent of the votes counted, so I suppose there's no chance of turning it around. (Though after the 2000 election I'm usually willing to hold out for quite a while before I'm satisfied with a "definite" result...) For what it's worth, I will say it was much closer than I figured it would be. I thought it was going to pass by over sixty-percent; I'm just so used to all the morons in this state (we elected Goodhair w/ 60+-percent, remember?) that I get my hopes up about nothing. Disappointing to see *every* amendment pass, considering I voted against about three-fourths of them.

At least my county of Orange beat Prop. 12 60-percent to 40, and it was even better in Jefferson, 62-38. It's a shame the rest of Texas can't be more like Southeast Texas... well, perhaps minus the humidity and pollution! haha At least more like us politically...

[0007]

46. Jays'us

Went to the polls yesterday and wasn't surprised by the low turn out of course this is what the Republicans want.

The results were disappointing to say the least.