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