Texas voter turnout is huge this year. But here's who doesn't vote.
With two days of early voting left before Election Day, 2016 is shaping up as a record-breaking year for Texas’ electoral participation.
In some areas of the state, the number of votes cast early has outpaced in-person early voting during previous presidential elections. Exciting? Sure. But this year’s high voting tallies do little to change Texas’ history as a state with some of the lowest voter turnout rates in the country.
For every 10 adults, more than four — but fewer than five — have voted in each of the past 10 presidential elections. Election watchers cite all sorts of reasons: voter suppression, voter apathy, voter ID requirements.
To break down that low voter turnout, here’s a look at the Texans who don’t vote based on previous presidential elections:
https://www.texastribune.org/2016/11/03/texas-voter-turnout-huge-year-heres-who-doesnt-vot/
A larger share of adult black Texans voted in the 2012 presidential election than any other racial or ethnic group. Hispanics and Asians have far lower turnout rates even when their participation rates — like most of the state — are higher during presidential elections than midterm elections when Texans select their governor.
Despite the high turnout rate among black Texans, whites and Hispanics cast more ballots because their population numbers are much bigger. Still, millions of white and Hispanic adults did not vote.