Historically, turnout for the Primaries is very low. Equally important is that those who usually vote in the Primaries hold the most extreme views. Of the 1,246,000 voters registered in 2024, only 185,400, less than 15%, voted in the March Primaries. Those few determined our Republican and Democratic Presidential candidates (and many others) for the November 2024 election.
It is an effort to research so many candidates, but it is worth it! Fortunately, you will have access to the League’s Voters Guide and VOTE411.org to give you insight as to where the candidates stand on important issues like balance of power, energy, immigration and hunger.
Our suggestion for narrowing down the number of candidates running for elected office is this: choose one of the League’s questions that you are particularly interested in and use that to winnow the field. Then, after selecting a couple of candidates to research further, read those candidates’ answers to all of our questions. Also, have a friendly conversation with others, look at the candidates’ websites, do a google search, and, if the candidate is an incumbent, research their voting record on issues important to you.
You’ll also want to do research on the Democrats’ and Republicans’ party propositions before going to the poll. The propositions can be found on the individual sample ballots at elections.bexar.org. The parties often used these propositions to form the basis for the parties’ platforms, inform state and national legislators regarding possible bills to file and advise their candidates on the issues. Your input is important to future legislation that will directly affect you.
Please do your research and then vote early between February 17 and 27. You’ll feel empowered.