Voting begins in first open election for governor of Texas in 24 years
The first open election for the governor of Texas since 1990, when Democratic nominee Ann Richards defeated Republican Texas oilman Clayton Williams, will take place Tuesday, Nov. 4.
Incumbent Rick Perry stepped into the governor’s office in December 2000 when George W. Bush resigned to become President of the United States. Perry has been sworn in four times, making him the longest serving governor in Texas state history. In July 2013, Perry announced that he would not seek re-election amid speculation that he may make another bid for the White House in 2016.
The polls for the general election open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. Early voting, which began Oct. 20, is ongoing through Friday, Oct. 31, and provides registered and eligible voters the opportunity to cast a ballot at any early voting location located in the county of residence. Houston area voters encompass Brazoria, Galveston and Harris.
The Candidates
The election to replace Perry in the governor’s mansion includes in alphabetical order: Attorney General Greg Abbott (R), state Sen. Wendy Davis (D), Libertarian party candidate Kathie Glass and Green Party candidate Brandon Parmer.
The Issues
The key issues addressed in this year’s election campaigns include education, immigration and civil rights.
Abbott promotes making education in Texas top-ranked in the country and proposes empowering parents, teachers and administrators by restoring genuine local control. He wants to secure the border and end the spillover of crime caused by international gangs and cartels. Abbott opposes same-sex marriage and is pro-life.
Davis’ education plan entails reducing standardized testing, expanding prekindergarten, and increasing access to higher education. She advocates implementing comprehensive immigration reform that would allow “hardworking, tax-paying” non-residents to earn legal status. Davis supports same-sex marriage and is pro-choice.
Glass proposes better education at a lower cost by ending school property taxes and federal interference of curriculum. Her plan to secure the border involves using the Texas State Guard and a made-for-Texas guest worker program. Glass is pro-life.
Parmer is running on environmental issues and advocates global sustainability.
Voter ID
Voters are required to show a photo ID when voting in person, whether early or on Election Day, and require one of seven acceptable forms of photo ID issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety or the United States government.
The voter ID law, Senate Bill 14, was proposed as an effort to prevent voter fraud. The photo ID requirements went into effect in 2011. On Oct. 18 the U.S. Supreme Court refused to block the Texas voter identification law for the upcoming election after a federal appeals court deemed it restrictive and unconstitutional.
“It does not suppress the vote,” said Debbie Roan, member of Bay Area Republican Women. “I can not think of a single person that I know that would not have a valid ID. You can’t do anything in this country with out a valid ID. I just believe that if you allow people to vote who shouldn’t then you diminish everyone’s right to vote.”
Challengers of the law argue that it is unfair to exclude the some 600,000 people in Texas lacking state issued photo identification. Austin Plier, a democracy fellow at Fairvote.org asserts that voting laws should not unnecessarily interfere with any person’s right to vote.
“Requiring a photo ID to vote does not by itself infringe on the right to vote, but it can if the state does not first make sure that every eligible voter actually has the necessary ID,” Plier said. “Unfortunately, in the case of Texas, a significant number of citizens do not have an ID required by the new law and will not be able to vote.”
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