The Puzzles of Power: Elections in theUS and Texas

GOVT2306: US and Texas Constitution and Politics

Tom Hanna
tlhanna@uh.edu

University of Houston

2025-10-25

Why Do Elections Matter?

The Core Puzzle of Democracy

Rhetorical Question: Is the US a democracy? Or is it a republic?

  • Both are examples of polyarchy: a system of government where power is invested in multiple people.
  • Two requirements: Contestation (real competition) and Widespread Participation (most adults can participate).
  • Elections are the engine of both.

The Election Menu: The Four Types

What are we voting for, and when?

  • Primary Elections (The Playoffs): Parties choose their nominee. Think of it as the elimination round.
  • General Elections (The Championship): The final contest between nominees and independents. Always in November.
  • Special Elections (Unscheduled Votes): Held to fill a vacancy (e.g., a sudden Congressional resignation) or to vote on specific issues, like constitutional amendments in Texas.
  • Local Elections (The Home Game): Mayor, City Council, School Board. These are often non-partisan in Texas and affect your daily life the most.

Local Elections Matter Most

Puzzle: Why do local elections–which affect our daily lives most directly–have the lowest voter turnout?

The Primary Puzzle: Open, Closed, or Something Else?

Question: How does the system balance party control vs. voter freedom?

Three Main Primary Types

  1. Closed Primary: Only voters who are registered members of a party can vote in that party’s primary. (e.g., New York, Florida).
  2. Open Primary: Any registered voter can choose which party’s primary to vote in on Election Day. (e.g., Texas, Alabama).
  3. Top-Two / Jungle: All candidates are on one ballot. The top two vote-getters, regardless of party, advance to the general election. (e.g., California).

The Texas Twist: “Open” with a Catch

  • Texas is an Open Primary state. You do not register with a party.
  • The Catch: When you vote, you pick one party and are then ineligible to vote in the other party’s primary or runoff for the rest of the election cycle.
  • Runoffs: Candidate needs majority (50% + 1) win to avoid a Primary Runoff Election
  • Current Debate: The Texas GOP has sued to require a closed primary (Source: Texas Tribune).

The Fairness Puzzle: Who Picks the Voters?

Rhetorical Question: Why do districts look like abstract art?

The Problem: Gerrymandering

  • Definition: Drawing bizarre electoral district boundaries to create safe seats for one party.
  • Why it works: Remember Duverger’s Law? Give your party a slight majority in 10 districts and your opponent a huge majority in 5.

Two types of Gerrymander

  1. Cracking: Splitting the opponent up so they have no majority district
  2. Packing: Making them waste votes in packed districts
  • Impact: Polarization: Why?
  • Safe seats lead to more extreme candidates winning primaries, as the real contest is within the party.

The Access Puzzle: Why is Voting So Hard?

Rhetorical Question: Why are young people the least likely to vote?

Barriers to Participation

  • Non-Holiday Voting: Tuesday voting
  • Registration: Motor voter only helps if people get driver’s licenses or state IDs
  • Student Confusion: Residency, absentee voting, voter ID laws

The Voter ID Debate

  • Proponents’ Claim: Strict ID laws prevent fraud
  • Opponents’ Claim: Vulnerable populations don’t have state IDs leading to voter suppression.
  • Majority opinion: Voters should have ID, but states should provide free and easy access to them.

Conclusion and Discussion

Key Takeaways

  • Elections are the core of polyarchy, republics, and democracy: competition and participation.
  • The structure matters: The winner-take-all system perpetuates the two-party system (Duverger’s Law).
  • Gerrymandering and voter access laws are major contemporary challenges that redefine the meaning of a “fair” contest.

Food for thought

  • Which electoral “puzzle”–money, gerrymandering, or low turnout–do you think poses the greatest threat to American democracy today? (If any!) Why?
  • Should Texas adopt a fully closed primary system, or would that be anti-democratic?
  • How can we increase voter turnout, especially in local elections that often affect our daily lives the most?

Authorship and License

Do not submit to Quizlet, Chegg, Coursehero, or other similar commercial websites.

Graphics are from Norton Publishers, produced using Google resources including nano banana, Gemini, or NotebookLM, or original work unless otherwise noted.