In the same way, it often makes sense for voters in, say, Midland, to commit to the county’s Republican primary.Ĭouncil races in Austin are nonpartisan, and while city ordinance says the commission should have "diversity by race, ethnicity, gender and geography," it doesn’t specify any restrictions on members’ politics. In Austin, where many down-ticket races field no Republican opposition, sometimes the only way a voter can affect the outcome is by choosing between Democratic candidates in the primary. Texans do not register to vote by party affiliation anyone can vote in either primary, even switching from election year to election year. Voting in a primary election doesn’t necessarily prove someone’s political lean, though in Texas it’s the closest signal available from voting records. In fact, 70 percent of recent voters in party primaries in Austin voted exclusively in Democratic primaries from 2006 through 2012, with 22 percent participating exclusively in Republican primaries, according to numbers that Democratic pollster Jeff Smith of Austin ran for us. Some might think that 88 percent Democratic sounds about right for Austin, the "blueberry in the tomato soup" of Texas politics.
When Austin announced the first members of a commission that will draw new City Council districts, Republican political consultant Derek Ryan offered quick analysis.Įight names were drawn May 22, 2013, and within a couple of hours Ryan, a voter data specialist and former research director for the state Republican party, tweeted, "Seven are D primary voters, only one has voted in an R primary."
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