Politics

founding fathers including george washington

were opposed to political parties.

Chief functions of politics parties include

nominating candidates, educating voters about issues and mobilizing their base voters

Texans select a small number of national convention delegates

at state conventions

Most candidates are selected

by preference primaries

Texans has been blessed by some colorful political characters,

Sam Houston, pro union in the face of secession
E.J. Davis, who performed to leave office after losing
Ma & Pa Ferguson, the former, the foe of the KKK
"Pappy" O'Daniel, the early version of Kinky

South Texas

is increasingly bi-cultural, bi-lingual and bi-national with close ties to mexico

The Hill Country

a republican foothold

Gulf Coast

and its petrochemical industry

Central Region

the microcosm of the states culture

East Texas

which is most like the old south

PanHandle

which has concerns about diminishing water levels in the ogallala aquifer

Two major american parties are

pragmatic, decentralized and fairly non ideological

After reconstruction texas featured

one party democratic party rule

Things have changed considerably since

2002- Republican

The democrats,

even when ruling liberal and Conservative factions

The Liberal factions were more in line with the national Democrats,

Conservaties often split

The biggest problem the Republicans

faced is their association with Reconstruction and Davis

The Republican revival began in the 1950's

with the 1952 Presidential Elections

The lowest level of party organizations is at the

Precinct level

What was the main issue that delayed texas annexation until 1845

Slavery

The Reconstruction was partly a response by

Radical of the South's imposition of Black Codes

Black Codes are

survivor restrictions on africans

The framers of the Texas Constitution were most interested in

responding to Reconstruction, rather than planing for the future

The framers are

enemies of the big government

Constitutions are written

to establish governing institutions, assign power, but also to set limits on governmental power

One restrictions in Texas

is our limit on regular legislative sessions (once every two years)

The framers set these limits b/c as ex secessionists

they hated powerful government

Most state constitutions are

long, inflexible and lots of specific law-like detail in them

The texas constitution has been amended

over 400 times because it is very details and must be changed to meet societal needs. (480)

The texas executive branch under the constitution

was designed to be decentralized

It is a "plural executive" featuring several executives

who are independently elected

The Judiciary under the constitution is elected by,

Partisan Vote

Texas Voters can

elect broad range of government officials and approve state constitutions amendments(80%)

The most common way people participate is by

voting in elections

In Texas, you must first register,but requirements are liberal:

Age 18
U.S. Citizen
Not a felon or declared mentally incompetent
Residents

Texas used to deny its citizens the right to vote through

use of Poll Taxes and ownership restrictions and the white primary

The voter registration system is considered

modern as any other state

States like texas were pushed into this by

the 26th amendment, the 1965 Voting Rights Act and the removal property ownership restrictions

Around 2030, or so the largest ethics group in Texas will be

Hispanics, Could impact on the states politics

In recent elections, American turnout votes in presidential elections

has trended lower

Texas, voters in presidential years usually come in at

40 to 50 percent

Nationally, the number is usually

50 to 60 percent

Texas nominates its party candidates

via direct primaries

It uses a Dual Primary System which sometimes generates

runoff primaries

to win in a general election

a candidate need only receive a Plurality- most votes

The general elections are ones which determine

who will actually serve in office

A closed primary is

one in which only registered party members can vote

Texas' closed primary system functions more like

an open system because of cross over voting

Cross over voting is

Where party identifiers of one party vote in the others primary election

General Elections in Texas are held

in November of even numbered years

Primary elections usually take place

in the Spring of election years (although last year was different) - Due to conflicts over redistricting and that necessitated judicial action

The Chief elections officer in Texas,

is its Secretary of State