Texas may be one of the biggest states in the union, but it is dead last in voter turnout on when it comes to casting a ballot in midterm elections, according to a recent Washington Post analysis.
Four years ago, voter turnout in Texas was roughly 30-percent in the middle of President Obama's second term. Most blame apathy among the state's younger voters.
“Whatever happens is not going to matter. Both sides are cut from the same cloth and are not going to change,” says Linda Cohn, president of the League of Women Voters of the Houston Area. “The other thing is the cynic's response of my vote doesn't matter or my vote won't count.”
“If they don't decide, others will decide for them, but that's not good enough, we can do better,” she says.
Cohn believes this November is different.
“I think we can hit the 50-percent threshold as we do on presidential election years, which is not wonderful but it's better than previous midterm elections,” she says. “I think politics today is supercharged and there a lot of issues that people can understand.”
Coincidentally, Tuesday is National Voter Registration Day.