Lubbock, Let’s Not Drop the Ball During These Mid Term Elections
As a general rule, people tend to sleep on midterm elections, even if there are highly contested and important seats up for grabs. Maybe voting for Governor isn't as thrilling as voting for President, but think about it, who really has more power when it comes to your day-to-day life?
You can look up a sample ballot based on your address. Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Judges, Representative District 19, Commissioners and Justices are all on the ballot this November. So is a $200 million road bond. Trust me, the people who control these positions will very much have the power to shape Lubbock and Texas, and the road bond is very consequential.
I would not presume to tell you how to vote, but I do presume to tell you to vote if you are registered and legally permitted to do so. Even if you think your vote won't make a difference, you'd be surprised how often it does. Remember to bring your I.D.!
This last presidential election saw 66.8% of citizens 18 and older voting. Lubbock was behind on that at 65.6%. During the last midterms, only 54% of eligible Lubbockites showed up to the polls. Admittedly, that is a huge improvement over 2014, when only 30% of people showed up. What were we so busy with that year? Taylor Swift's song "Blank Space" hit number 1, were we all caught up in that?
I highly recommend early voting. If you live in Lubbock, you can early vote at one of several United locations, Citizens Tower or on Tech campus beginning Monday, October 24 through Friday, November 4 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. If you live in a outlying town like Slaton or Shallowater, you can vote at a community center. The list of early voting locations and times is available here. If you vote on election day, here are the available polling centers. But again, it doesn't really get easier or more convenient than early voting.
Do your part, it's easy. And you might just make the world a better place.