Week one of Early Voting: What we're seeing so far

‘Tis the season of data crunchers and poll pundits, who analyze the incoming voting rolls to project how the election might swing. The modeled projections of early voting results take into consideration voter characteristics such as age, race, gender, and previous party affiliation.  With this in mind, the first few days have been positive for Democratic turnout but; as days go by Republican voter turnout continues to grow. 

However, we should be mindful of what we are seeing in modeled projections. 25% of voters who have casted ballots in person haven’t voted in a primary election in six years, so data analysts don’t have a party affiliation for them. So far, experienced voters are outpacing new voters (3% of turnout). We must remember that everything we see until Election Day is just a forecast and should not be treated as fact or a foregone conclusion.   

There are about 10 days left until Election Day, and we must continue to work hard to remind every person we can to get out to vote. This weekend is the only weekend you can cast your ballot early. Early voting runs until Friday, October 30 and Election Day is Tuesday, November 2 –– most polls are open 7:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M. –– you can find our endorsements and nearest polling center here.   

The world's first trillionaire, Elon Musk, the first person to amass a personal fortune of over, $1,000,000,000,000 –– that’s 12 zeros –– has spent at least $189.6 million dollars in Texas to buy his own personal U.S. Senator, Ken Paxton. Additionally, he has given at least $6 million to state candidates and political groups, including Greg Abbott, Dan Patrick, and Dustin Burrows. Elon is trying to buy our elections because he wants to buy our land to expand his AI company and use our water. He understands that if he can push our current corrupt leaders across the finish this November, they will owe him big time.   

While our state leaders and their billionaire friends continue to enrich themselves, working families in Texas suffer. They have lied to us— about gas prices, grocery prices, and have allowed health care to skyrocket. All while our neighborhood public schools’ close doors across the state.   This election cycle we have the ability to push back on the corrupt and absurd reality of our politics in Texas. We can elect pro-public school and pro-worker candidates who are committed to putting the interest of Texans first. This includes: 

• Gina Hinojosa for Governor 

• James Talarico for U.S. Senate 

• Vikki Goodwin for Lt. Governor 

• Nathan Johnson for Attorney General 

• Sarah Eckhardt for Comptroller 

• And many more you can find here.  

It is fun to project the results of election night, and it’s interesting to theorize what the early voting data is showing us. But elections are not just numbers on graphs. This election means everything for parents voting so their school district has enough buses to take their kids to school, for the elderly who cannot afford to pay for their medicine because they don’t have healthcare insurance, and for our educators who teach in overcrowded classrooms with no working A/C. So if you haven’t casted your vote already we encourage you to vote our endorsed candidates and make a plan to take 3 friends with you to vote early.