by Michael Handley
Like much of the rest of Texas, 2012 Collin County election results drifted to the right. On measures of both candidate and party, Collin County voted less
Democratic and more Republican in 2012 than in 2008.
Obama's performance in Collin County declined on both raw vote count
and vote spread and Romney's performance improved over McCain's 2008
vote count and percentage wins.
Comparing ballots cast as a percentage of registered voters, 2012
turnout lags behind 2008 turnout in Collin County, as it also does in eleven other of Texas' fifteen
largest counties.
According to Texas
DSHS Center for Health Statistics population estimates the Collin County population base has expanded over the last four years.
While the population has grown, the percentage of voting age persons (VAP) who registered to vote for the presidential election has fallen from 2008 levels.
Does this mean these Texans were less motivated to vote in
2012 than in 2008?
It seems apparent from the county and top line turnout numbers that Texas Democrats, including those who live in Collin County were less motivated to vote in 2012 than in 2008.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Cell Phone Only Voters Making GOTV Phone Banks Obsolete
In the final weeks before Election Day, a scary statistic emerged from the databases at Barack Obama’s Chicago headquarters: more than half the campaign’s targeted swing-state voters under age 29 had no listed phone number. They have adopted a wireless cell phone only lifestyle, effectively immune to the obsolete 20th century "voice phone bank canvassing" get-out-the-vote efforts.
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Collin Co. Election Day Vote Center Follow Up
by Michael Handley
Collin County had countywide "Voting Center" polling locations on Election Day, November 6th, 2012. Election Day Vote Centers worked like Early Voting polling locations where voters living anywhere in Collin County could vote at any of the 67 Voting Centers open around the county on Election Day.
This is a follow up to our November 5th article, Collin Co. Election Day Vote "Anywhere" Centers. A few locations had wait lines during the day and through out the entire day. Plano's Carpenter Park Recreation Center location opened with approximately 150 people already waiting in line. The last person to join that line at 7:00 a.m. Tuesday morning, as the Judge called "the polls are open," waited about 70 minutes to vote. The Carpenter Park Recreation Center wait line ranged from over 70 minutes to about 40 minutes through out the day. About 140 people were waiting in line at that location at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday evening, when the Judge called "the polls are closed." The last person in that closing line voted at 7:50 p.m.
Posted below the "Read more »" jump are the Vote Center ePollBook voter check-in counts. This count does not include manually processed provisional ballots or voters who surrendered their vote by mail ballot to the Election Judges, so they could cast an in-person ballot.
Collin County had countywide "Voting Center" polling locations on Election Day, November 6th, 2012. Election Day Vote Centers worked like Early Voting polling locations where voters living anywhere in Collin County could vote at any of the 67 Voting Centers open around the county on Election Day.
This is a follow up to our November 5th article, Collin Co. Election Day Vote "Anywhere" Centers. A few locations had wait lines during the day and through out the entire day. Plano's Carpenter Park Recreation Center location opened with approximately 150 people already waiting in line. The last person to join that line at 7:00 a.m. Tuesday morning, as the Judge called "the polls are open," waited about 70 minutes to vote. The Carpenter Park Recreation Center wait line ranged from over 70 minutes to about 40 minutes through out the day. About 140 people were waiting in line at that location at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday evening, when the Judge called "the polls are closed." The last person in that closing line voted at 7:50 p.m.
Posted below the "Read more »" jump are the Vote Center ePollBook voter check-in counts. This count does not include manually processed provisional ballots or voters who surrendered their vote by mail ballot to the Election Judges, so they could cast an in-person ballot.
Friday, November 16, 2012
Observer: Texas Democrats, Make Your Move
From The Texas Observer ~ by Eileen Smith
Yes, there have been isolated [Texas Democratic] victories in the form of really good candidates — San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro, his brother Joaquin, the newly elected congressman, and Congressman-elect Pete Gallego who unseated Francesco “Quico” Canseco. But relying on the random strong candidate instead of building a solid state party infrastructure is like playing the political lottery. You’re just wasting your time and money fantasizing about hitting the jackpot in the form of yet another rising star.
So forget about the great GOP awakening. Now is the perfect time for Texas Democrats to figure out what the hell they’re doing. The default explanation for their dismal showing was that Texas is not just red but bloody red, a stronghold of the Republican Party and ruled with an iron fist by Pharaoh, forcing the Chosen Ones to wander aimlessly in the desert looking for manna from heaven. But now the shifting demographics coupled with a rather clueless opposition party should be working in their favor. In the meantime the only thing Democrats here seem to do is nominate bumbling statewide candidates who can’t do much better than 40 percent. Is that any way to boost morale in a defeatist party so used to losing it’s forgotten how to win?
Read the full article @ The Texas Observer.
Yes, there have been isolated [Texas Democratic] victories in the form of really good candidates — San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro, his brother Joaquin, the newly elected congressman, and Congressman-elect Pete Gallego who unseated Francesco “Quico” Canseco. But relying on the random strong candidate instead of building a solid state party infrastructure is like playing the political lottery. You’re just wasting your time and money fantasizing about hitting the jackpot in the form of yet another rising star.
So forget about the great GOP awakening. Now is the perfect time for Texas Democrats to figure out what the hell they’re doing. The default explanation for their dismal showing was that Texas is not just red but bloody red, a stronghold of the Republican Party and ruled with an iron fist by Pharaoh, forcing the Chosen Ones to wander aimlessly in the desert looking for manna from heaven. But now the shifting demographics coupled with a rather clueless opposition party should be working in their favor. In the meantime the only thing Democrats here seem to do is nominate bumbling statewide candidates who can’t do much better than 40 percent. Is that any way to boost morale in a defeatist party so used to losing it’s forgotten how to win?
Read the full article @ The Texas Observer.
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