Texas voters are choosing candidates for 50 local and statewide offices Tuesday. May 24 is the run-off for the March 1 primary.
The Texas Secretary of State says 4.37% of registered voters participated in early voting in the primary run-off; 465,880 voted in the Republican primary run-off, 291,718 voted early in the Democratic primary run-off.
In the March 1 primary, turnout was 18%.
At a conference at the George W. Bush Presidential Center last week, the former President urged people to actively participate in government.
"The thing about elections that are really important is they provide legitimacy to people who get elected," he said. "They provide a peaceful way to transfer power."
The former President said he has been hearing from more people upset about the current political environment.
"People are really worried. They don't like the anger, they don't like the finger-pointing. They expect better, and if you've got a problem with that, the key thing is to vote," Bush said. "The interesting thing about elections and democracy is they enable our democracy to heal. If you study American history, you realize our society's been able to heal itself and improve. That's because of elections. I'm pretty confident we'll heal ourselves as long as people vote and take their duty as a citizen seriously."
Condoleezza Rice, National Security Adviser during Bush' first term and Secretary of State during his second, is currently the director of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. She said she urges students to get involved in local politics.
"It's when you see democracy at the grass roots, when you see somebody knocking on 50,000 doors, it gives you a sense of the energy of democracy," she said during the conference.
Rice said elections give people a chance to express themselves.
"At the time of elections, we get to show democracy is not a spectator sport," she said.
Bush referenced the war in Ukraine, saying President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was fairly elected with 72% of the vote, describing him as the "Churchill of the 21st century."
"He's leading his nation heroically against Russian invading forces and defending his country," Bush said. "In contrast, Russian elections are rigged. Political opponents are imprisoned or otherwise eliminated from participating in the electoral process. The result is an absence of checks and balances."
Voters in Dallas County can look up a sample ballot here.
Voters in Tarrant County can see a sample ballot here.
Voters in Collin County can see a sample ballot here.
Voters in Denton County can see a sample ballot here.
Polls are open Tuesday until 7 p.m.
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