More register, but will they vote?
By Robert Nathan
Come Tuesday, every vote will count. And Travis County will be counting several thousand more votes than it did four years ago thanks to enthusiastic voter-registration drives.
The nationwide deadline for voter registration ended at midnight Oct. 4. Based on preliminary results, Travis County voting officials say 18,000 potential new voters this year could make significant changes in the outcomes in local elections, and at least make a statement in the national presidential election.
An estimated 32,089 voter registrations have been filled out during the last push of the Travis County voting drive. Of these votes, typically 60 percent are new voters. As a result, “We have 97,000 new voters since the 2000 election,” said Tina Morton, public information officer for Travis County voter registration.
There are 619,336 eligible voters in Travis County. According to the Travis County Voter Registration Division, people ages 26 to 30 bring the most votes, while 18-year-olds and voters over 86 bring in the fewest voters. Voters ages 36 to 60 comprise for 46 percent of the registered voters.
“They have a very high voting registration rate,” said Michele Najar, Travis County voter education coordinator. “They don’t have to move [place of residence] as often as younger voters, and it is easy for them to submit their registration cards.”
Some 40 percent vote in early voting while 10 percent vote by placing their vote in the mail.
In contrast, younger voters historically have had a low voting turnout rate. Whether because of their lack of experience with the issues or the fact that the issues mostly concern their parents, members of this group generally feel distant from voting issues.
“Younger people tend to not care,” said Vanessa Farrow, a 19-year-old voter. “They think that their vote is not going to count.”
Females tend to vote more than males. According to Travis County voting registration figures, of those who identify their gender (about a quarter did not), nearly 53 percent of the 26- to 30-year-old voters are females.
“I think that girls vote more because they read more,” said Farrow. “The more you read, the more informed you are on the issues.”
Based on the results of the 2000 presidential election, Travis County voters tend to vote for Democratic candidates. Some 65,143 voted Democrat, as opposed to the 28,812 Republican voters. Geographically, election data from 1996 to 2002 show Precinct 307 yielded a 65 percent voter turnout, while precincts 407 and 445 yielded a 30 percent voter turnout, the lowest in Travis County. Nationally, precincts with lower levels of education tend to have lower voter turnout rates, as seen in precincts 407 and 445. On the other hand, precincts with higher education levels typically have higher voter turnouts, as in Precinct 307.
According to the Travis County Voter Registration Division, voter turnout tracks standard of living, ethnicity and religion. People in high-income neighborhoods tend to vote. The same cannot be said of those on the lower end of the financial spectrum.
“Compared to the 2000 Election, we had 572,338 voters, and we’ve had two purges since then,” Morton said. “If you don’t update your registration, you will...lose your registration in this county.”
Texas law mandates purges. Voters not responding to repeated mailed notices to update their registration are purged. Before the two purges after the 2000 election, there was a voting count of 572,338. The purges left 472,126 registered voters, which means these voters need to be re-registered for this election.
Travis County voting drives have tried to get more people to register. The University of Texas at Austin’s Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Participation has urged UT students to register to vote because it is their civic duty. So far, it appears these drives are beginning to make a difference.
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