Texas has an open primary

Anyone registered to vote can choose a Republican or Democratic ballot. Many of the people on the Democratic ballot (in my area) are running unopposed, so it was a good opportunity to try to get the least crazy people on the November ballot. Also, the republican ballot has 13 propositions that are not on the Democratic one, so that's your only chance to have a say in those (and IMO they are really really bad!)

mkwt ,

Here's something to consider if you're thinking about selecting a different party ballot than you normally would:

If you select a party today, you are bound by state law to stay with that party for the entire rest of the election cycle.

This choice is also public info, and it will influence what kinds of mailers you will get.

tarmac ,

Would you be able to elaborate on what it means to stay with that party for the rest of the cycle? How would that impact the presidential election? And when does the cycle end? Appreciate you bringing this up.

wjrii ,

In Texas, the main consequence is that you can only vote in that same party's runoffs, but you'll also get texts and mailers from that party. You can vote for whoever you'd like in the general election.

atx_aquarian , (edited )
@atx_aquarian@lemmy.world avatar

Only which primaries you can participate in. It doesn't require you to vote in any particular way in the actual election. The public voter roll will show which primary you participated in, but your vote in the election is secret. So anyone who says they checked and confirmed their vote was counted wrong in the election is full of shit or confused by the public voter roll's representation of party selection during primaries.

edit 1: I think Texas Standard did a nice job explaining it.

edit 2: The Texas Secretary of State office has a good FAQ, too. Some other interesting points in there that I didn't know about. Specifically, that signing petitions for candidates also locks you into their party's primaries (if applicable) for that year.

6. What if I signed a petition for a candidate for a place on the primary ballot?

If a voter signed a candidate’s petition for a place on the primary ballot, that voter is only able to vote in the primary, or participate in the convention, of that candidate’s party during the voting year in which the primary election is held. For example, if a voter signed a Democratic candidate’s petition, that voter is ineligible to vote in the Republican primary or participate in a minor party convention. (§172.026).

7. If I signed a petition for a candidate for nomination in the Libertarian Party or Green Party, can I still vote in a primary election?

No. If a voter signed a candidate’s petition for nomination for the Libertarian Party or Green Party, that voter is ineligible to vote in a primary election or participate in the convention of a different party during the voting year in which the primary election is held. (§§172.026, 141.041).

doubletwist ,

Only for primaries I believe. There's nothing stopping you from voting for the Republican primary then voting for Biden in November, or vice-versa.

ramble81 ,

This is true. I’ve done this countless times in Texas because I’ll vote for whatever democrat in the general election, but I want to do what I can to influence the republican primaries. Ironically I get so many mailers and calls from republican aligned groups that are scratching their head when I mention I’m gonna vote democrat in the generals.

Zaktor ,

This choice is also public info, and it will influence what kinds of mailers you will get.

Even better then, you get to waste their money on top of it.

Zitronensaft , (edited )

For the Texans specifically, I would like to add that Ken Paxton is trying to primary Presiding Judge Sharon Keller, Judge Barbara Hervey and Judge Michelle Slaughter of the Criminals Court of Appeals which is the highest level criminal appeals court in Texas. He is upset with them because they wouldn’t allow him to pursue voter fraud cases unilaterally, his office has to get permission from a local prosecutor now.

Ken Paxton has also put a lot of money into trying to primary state legislators who voted to impeach him, that is why so many incumbents do have challengers right now. Definitely look up your local races before going in to vote.

In case anyone is out of the loop on Attorney General Ken Paxton, I have one more link about the charges of securities fraud he was indicted on eight years ago. The case is finally going to trial in April.

wjrii ,

My district has an R incumbent getting primaried by a Paxton shill but... I just can't. I already held my nose and voted for some school board people in a general who are way to the right of me, but were obviously less crazy than their opponents, and fortunately it worked out. The incumbent here is barely any less crazy than the challenger, and shit, Paxton is not even on an ideological vendetta, but rather a personally corrupt one that is way more damaging to the GOP's ability to get things done (which are always bad when not utterly mundane). Abbott's obsession with vouchers that are always opposed by football-lovin' rural republicans who don't want their schools to close and their towns to die is the one that's so baffling to me. I can pick through it and guess that it comes down to donations from people who stand to benefit from a private school industrial complex fueled by tax dollars, but it's an odd hill to die on.

The GOP is toxic, and the Texas GOP doubly so. My adding to the number of people voting in a Dem primary will have to do.

PrincessLeiasCat ,

Same. Thanks to who’s who can stomach it, but I’m not one of them. I used the League of Women Voters Vote411 project to research everyone on my ballot, and there were a couple races that were difficult because I liked multiple people running and had a hard time choosing just one.

Can’t see that happening in a race between two or more R’s.

Today OP ,

I spent a couple of hours researching and all I got out of it was feeling like I needed to take a shower. Finally, I looked up the true Texas project, printed off their recommendations, and voted opposite those.

LopensLeftArm ,
@LopensLeftArm@sh.itjust.works avatar

Yeah, Colorado allows for an Unaffiliated registration to let you choose which primary to vote in, so that was my strategy as well. Biden doesn't need my vote in the primary, but Haley is giving Trump conniptions and I want to keep her in the race as long as I can.

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