A D&S Special Report

Texas House District 75

No-Vote Texas: The Roots of Voter Apathy in the Second Most Populous U.S. State

Bernie Sanders supporters fill the Abraham Chavez Theater in El Paso last February, seven weeks before the candidate suspended his campaign. Now Texas Democrats worry whether the party can recreate “that energy and enthusiasm” moving into the November elections. (Photo by Joe Moody)

By Jose Nieves Herrera and Catherine Chojnowski

One Saturday afternoon in February, Texas State Representative Joe Moody sat in the Abraham Chavez Theater in downtown El Paso surrounded by thousands of people, many of them young Latinos who were awaiting the arrival of Bernie Sanders. The theater was at full capacity. The energy and passion were palpable, recalls Moody.

The scene inside the theater appeared to defy a long history of voter apathy in Texas. “The saying you hear a lot is Texas isn’t a red state, Texas is a non-voting state,” said Moody, who represents Texas House District 78 in El Paso.

State Representative Joe Moody and his son attend the Bernie Sanders rally in El Paso in February. (Photo by Lyda Ness-Garcia)

However, that was seven weeks before Sanders suspended his campaign. Now Moody worries whether the Democrats will be able to recreate “that energy and enthusiasm” moving into the November elections.

Texas is the second most populous state in the United States. And, although the U.S. recorded the highest voter turnout in more than a century during the 2018 midterm elections, Texas had the third lowest voter turnout that year.

The stakes this coming November are exceptionally high. Texas has become a battleground for Democrats, even as the Covid-19 outbreak will likely hinder voter turnout in the midst of one of the most consequential presidential elections in modern American history. The coronavirus has upended retail politics, which means that campaigns must  establish a digital presence in order to engage voters and fundraise if they have any chance to succeed.

And it is not just the presidential election that is at stake. Texas Democrats are aiming to flip the state house, which has been in GOP control since 2003.

A  range of forces have converged to make Texas a low-vote state. In a state with a rich history of political corruption, Texans harbor a general mistrust in government. Other contributing factors include, gerrymandering, voter suppression and lack of civics education.

Latino voters, particularly young Latinos, are vital to the Democratic Party’s efforts to flip Texas blue in November. As voter registrations in Texas trend upward, voter turnout remains low. In Moody’s district, which encompasses part of El Paso, around 13,000 voters participated in the last primary election, out of 470,000 registered voters in the county.

“Our voter turnout is really poor,” said Moody. “And I think if you ask most people on my side of the aisle that is by design.” Over 70 percent of the voting age population is registered to vote in Texas, yet registered voters continually fail to show up at the polls.

On Super Tuesday, voters experienced long waiting lines to vote in the Democratic primary. A report by the Leadership Conference Education Fund found that Texas had the most polling- place closures in the country. Texas closed 750 polling places since 2012, and Dallas, Travis and Harris County were at the top of the list.

The majority of El Pasoans are low-income and work hourly jobs, making travel to polling sites difficult. Many communities around El Paso are rural as well, requiring residents to travel long distances to cast their votes. For those reliant on public transportation, trips to polling sites can be quite costly.

Texas State Representative Mary González represents Texas House District 75 in El Paso, which is overwhelmingly Latino. González said people of color and marginalized communities not voting is arguably intentional.

Texas State Representative Mary González says the lack of online and same-day voter registration discourages Texans from voting. (Photo courtesy of Mary González)

“There is no reason why in Texas we shouldn’t allow online voter registration,” she said. “There’s no reason in Texas why we shouldn’t allow for same-day voter registration, There’s all these arbitrary rules and the only reason they exist is to make it harder to vote, but specifically harder to vote for people who are marginalized and who have intentionally been discouraged not to participate in democracy.”

In González’s district, which encompasses over 125,000 people over the age of 18, only around 10,000 voters participated in the last primary election .

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 eliminated obstacles, such as poll taxes and literacy tests, that made it nearly impossible for marginalized communities to vote. Under Section 5 of the Act, Texas was among several states that required pre-clearance before changing voting laws and procedures – including changes to district lines.

In recent years, gerrymandering has become easier to execute due to recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings that effectively nullified the Voting Rights Act

In 2013, in Shelby v. Holder, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the formula used to determine which states must obtain pre-clearance to change voting laws and procedures was outdated, and hence unconstitutional. The House of Representatives tried, in 2019, to pass an updated version of the law, the Voting Rights Advancement Act, but it never got a vote in the Senate.

The law does still permit federal court petitions for pre-clearance before changing voting laws and procedures if plaintiffs can prove discriminatory intent. However, in 2018, in another gerrymandering case – Abbott v. Perez – the Supreme Court reversed a lower court finding that the Texas legislature had intentionally discriminated against Latino and African-American voters. The court noted that under representing a particular racial or ethnic group does not, by itself, prove discriminatory intent—thus, raising the bar for pre-clearance petitions.

Partisan gerrymandering is more common in Texas, “because Texas is diversifying,” said González. Since many Latinos tend to vote Democratic, she added: ”There is a fear of Republicans losing the majority and so there’s a lot of effort to maintain that.”

With its population growing rapidly, Texas is projected to gain at least two seats in the House of Representatives after the decennial census. If Democrats fail to flip the legislature, a GOP-controlled legislature will retain the power to draw legislative maps favoring them.

Corruption also has hindered trust in government–in El Paso and throughout the state. Mary González’s unlikely victory in 2012 owed much to the arrest of her opponent, former County Commissioner Guillermo Gandara Jr. on charges of drug smuggling and money laundering; he pleaded guilty. “If the elected officials are doing shady stuff, then people lose faith in the governmental process and the officials,” said González.

The Covid-19 pandemic poses new obstacles that could further depress voting, especially if voters fear getting sick. Vote-by-mail is seen as crucial for getting out the vote among eligible Democrats—especially low-income Latinos.

Currently, the disabled, seniors, and voters absent from their county during the period of early voting and election day are permitted to vote by mail. Texas Democrats have brought litigation forward to expand vote-by-mail—though that effort is unlikely to succeed before November’s election. Meanwhile, campaigns are doubling down on efforts to make sure individuals who are eligible to vote by mail are applying to do so.

Election results and voter registration data collected from Texas Secretary of State archives. (Graphic by Jose Nieves Herrera)

Increasing turnout among young people is another challenge—one that is being taken on by the El Paso Young Democrats, a local chapter of the Texas Young Democrats and one of the largest partisan youth organizations in the country. The group is working to educate and engage young El Pasoans in the political process to overcome an often-common sense of defeat that follows when a candidate they are enthusiastic about loses an election.

Many young El Pasoans were devastated by Bernie Sanders’s withdrawal from the presidential race. What worries J.J. Martinez, President of El Paso Young Democrats, more than turnout “is Biden’s ability to appeal to the Sanders supporters in Texas.”

Beto O’Rourke’s failure to unseat Republican incumbent Ted Cruz in his 2018 Senate bid was another major blow, said Martinez. O’Rourke, a former U.S. congressman from El Paso, won nearly 74 percent of the vote in El Paso.

Members of the Young Democrats of El Paso canvas for Elisa Tamayo, a candidate for state representative for District 96. (Photo courtesy of Young Democrats of El Paso)

During the Senate race, El Paso’s voter turnout nearly doubled between the 2014 and 2018 midterm elections to 45 percent in 2018. O’Rourke generated great enthusiasm among Black and Latino youth.

The lack of adequate civics education also contributes to voter apathy. “In Texas specifically, we start teaching people about government and politics too late,” said Martinez. “The public education system doesn’t seem to have an interest in educating young people earlier about politics and government.”

While Texas high school seniors are required to take a course on government in order to graduate, Martinez explained that these courses tend to only offer a very broad picture of how the U.S. government functions. Unless the course falls on an election year, students are unlikely to learn how to register to vote, or about candidates and their policies.

Carmen Crosse, Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education from the Socorro Independent School District, counters that school principals in her district continuously work to engage young, future-voters in political matters and encourage them to participate in the electoral process by holding voting drives at several of their campuses.

“We do that at the beginning of registration time, we do that in our government and economics classes to make sure that all of our seniors, especially our upcoming 18 years olds are informed as to what they need to do in order to register to vote and what is their responsibility,” she said.

In light of the Covid-19 outbreak, the various issues that hinder voter turnout are likely to be exacerbated. While El Paso has lifted the “stay at home” order to comply with Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s initiative to begin reopening the state of Texas, health concerns are still looming and are expected to discourage voter participation.

“The fewer people you have engaged in their government, the easier it is to maintain the status quo,” said Representative Moody. “It is our job to inform and educate people and engage people on why these things matter to them and their daily lives … [and to] make sure those families understand that getting engaged in this process can play a role in changing the dynamic in our communities.”

https://www.facebook.com/eptxyds/photos/a.2424738874239404/2908102652569688/?type=3&theater

The Forgotten Colonias: Covid-19 Poses Added Burdens for Unincorporated Immigrant Communities at the Border

Colonias in the El Paso area often lack basic services such as sewer systems, water, electricity and internet access. (Photo courtesy of Bethsaida Mondrago)

By Ayse Kelce

Two days after Texas Gov. Greg Abbot issued a stay-at-home order to curb the spread of Covid-19, a water main broke in an informal settlement, known as a colonia, near Clint and the U.S.-Mexico border, leaving residents without water for more than 14 hours.

“It was really frustrating because, remember, one thing we tell people is wash your hands,” said state Representative Mary Edna González, whose District 75 covers the Clint area, east of El Paso. “If you don’t have any water, and then all the stores are out of bottled water…It was just chaos.”

González, speaking during a Zoom interview on May 24, about 10 days after the incident, added that the lockdown had exacerbated the difficult living conditions, caused by a lack of basic resources, that residents of colonias had long faced.

Colonias are unincorporated neighborhoods around the U.S.-Mexican border that experience issues with accessing internet connections and potable water and often lack sewer systems, garbage pickup, paved roads as well as safe and sanitary housing. With the spread of the coronavirus, these largely immigrant communities are facing additional, unique challenges when it comes to accessing education, receiving Covid-19 relief from the federal government and getting accurate census counts.

States along the border, such as Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas, have high numbers of immigrant populations and colonia settlements. Texas has the biggest population of colonias with around 500,000 people living in 2,294 colonias, according to research by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

Marcelino Navarette, 61, who lives in one of these incorporated neighborhoods around West El Paso, said access to water is an issue in his neighborhood as well.

“We haven’t had water here for the 22 years that I’ve been here. It is a little unfair for the representatives of El Paso or the county not to help us with regards to the water service,” he said in Spanish, after struggling to find a spot in his house where the phone connection would not be lost.

He explained that in his neighborhood, residents buy water from companies that deliver it in trucks, charging around $100 for about 1,200 gallons. “There’s mainly only two trucks that deliver water,” he said, adding that during the summer months, the wait time increases to get water. With the coronavirus, waits are already long.

Accessing water is not the only struggle for colonia residents. “We do have light in our homes, but around the streets, everything is just dark,” he said.

Unpaved roads are the only way to get to the colonias near Hueco Tanks, east of El Paso. (Photo courtesy of Daniel Navarette)

Colonias started forming in the 1950s for low-income individuals–most of them immigrants– seeking affordable housing in rural areas.

“The colonias are typically a response to wanting that same suburban house, but without the ability to get into the debt system that finances houses for the mass of consumers,” said Prof. Josiah Heyman of the University of Texas at El Paso.

Heyman, an anthropologist who is the director of UTEP’s Center for Interamerican and Border Studies, explained that colonias are often home to working class people like construction or service workers who manage to get together some money to purchase a piece of land and build a mobile house.

Navarrete’s son Dan, 34, was raised in the colonias from the age of 9. He agrees that his community needs easier access to water and internet connection the most, especially since the coronavirus lockdown forced residents to stay home.

“One of my cousins was going to school and they’re sending him all the classes online but he’s having a hard time getting access to the internet,” said the younger Navarrete. The cousin, who goes to high school in El Paso, returned to Juarez, Mexico, just across the border, after the schools closed because his parents were in Mexico and the sketchy internet connection in the colonias was not allowing him to catch up with schoolwork.

“I think it’s better for him over there because over here he won’t have access to the internet because the schools are closed, and the libraries are closed,” the younger Navarrete said. “There’s no way for him to access his homework,” the younger Navarrete said.

Dan Navarette currently lives in East El Paso in a mobile home with his wife and two kids and works in the oil fields in New Mexico.  He considers himself to be one of the lucky ones who still gets paid a minimum amount without having to go to work; due to the economic downturn caused by Covid-19, his company laid off many workers. “It’s a program that the company has,” he said, adding that most people in his community work in construction or warehouses. “They’ll lay you off for a month, but they’ll still pay you for it. Not your whole salary but something you can live off of.”

Along with infrastructure and internet issues, colonia residents also are mostly on their own when it comes to health care during this pandemic.

“In Texas specifically, we have done a really bad job of providing rural health,” González said. She explained that while Covid-19 testing is key to slowing the spread of the virus, many colonia residents were having difficulty getting to test sites.

She said that for some people, the closest site was 40 minutes away.

“So it’s 80 minutes away, back and forth. That’s just driving; most families don’t have cars or have one vehicle per family,” she explained. “Showing symptoms, there’s no way that they can even get 80 miles, especially if there are kids and there’s all this complexity. We have not done enough to do mobile sites.”

Marcelino Navarette said that even before the coronavirus pandemic, he had similar difficulties getting medical care. “Since the closest hospital or any access to medical services are so far away, sometimes it takes a whole day, even when you have an appointment because we have to drive,” he said. He explained that there were no clinics close to where he lives, and getting to and from the nearest hospital–a 15 mile drive–is very time consuming.

Texas’ efforts to inform Texans about the coronavirus pandemic also failed to reach the colonias, according to González. “I don’t think we’ve had enough bilingual communication,” she said. “The governor has been doing a lot of press conferences and they are sending out a lot of resources. But it’s all in English. More than 40 percent of the border colonias have limited English proficiency, according to the data shared by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

The coronavirus lockdown has worsened the economic hardships faced by residents of colonias, whose median household incomes are less than $30,000. According to Dallas Federal Bank, 73.1 percent of colonia residents are U.S. citizens, meaning that the rest, nearly 30 percent, were undocumented or not naturalized, making them ineligible for federal coronavirus stimulus funds. Additionally, married couples who file taxes jointly are also unable to access stimulus funding if one of them is an undocumented immigrant. This decision largely affects communities like colonias whose residents depend heavily on public assistance and where many families have various members with different immigration statuses.

Local politicians and non-profit organizations have stepped up to offer additional assistance for residents of the colonias, but they say not enough help is reaching people in need. The Border Network for Human Rights has been working with González to provide resources through private donations. González described their work as a “Band-aid situation.”

“Although we are appreciative of the trillions in stimulus funding provided by the federal government to date, few of the programs created provide relief for immigrant families,” González and five other state representatives wrote in a letter to their congresswoman, U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar. “Their inclusion in stimulus funding is necessary to ensure that they too have the resources to stay home to slow the spread of Covid-19 without losing their livelihoods.”

“Immigrants, whether documented or undocumented, are part of the backbone of El Paso and communities across Texas and the nation,” the letter continued, thanking Escobar for her work in the Congress so far.

The coronavirus lockdown also could impede efforts to secure government funding for future improvements because it is making it more difficult for residents to participate in the 2020 U.S. Census. Getting accurate census counts also gets harder in the colonias as one third of the residents do not have citizenship.

“Some people that I know who don’t have any legal papers to be here…are very afraid of someone coming up to them and asking questions in their house,” Dan Navarette said. He added that he still has not received his census form in mail, but his parents who live farther from the city limits have.

The elder Navarette said that he had filled out the census, but he is not hopeful that having an accurate count will actually bring public services to his neighborhood since he has not seen any changes in many years.

Indeed, Navarette is an exception. The average census response rate in Texas is just 48 percent,” according to González. Her census efforts have moved online because of Covid-19 and the need for social distancing, mainly to platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Those efforts, however, are least likely to reach the colonias.

When asked about voting in the upcoming 2020 election, Dan Navarette laughed. “Right now for me, elections or voting are not in my mind. Right now, it’s about being safe and go buy whatever you need for groceries and come back home,” he said.

The younger Navarrete said that some colonias were 50 miles away from voting stations in schools, which discouraged a lot of people from voting in the past. His father added that local politicians informed them about where to go and vote, but it still was not enough.

“I don’t feel that it really makes a difference. Because for these 22 years that I have been out here, really nothing has changed,” he said.