By Bill Zeeble, KERA News
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-925067.mp3
Dallas, TX – Texas consistently ranks near the bottom for voter turnout compared to the rest of the country. With election day just six weeks away, the League of Women Voters national president, Elisabeth MacNamara, hopes to change that. KERA's Bill Zeeble talked to her.
Two years ago, Texas ranked 46th out 51 states and the District of Columbia in voter turnout. In 2006, it was even worse, when the Lone Star state ranked 47th, according to the United States Elections Project.
Elisabeth MacNamara, the League of Women Voters National President, has long pushed one of the League's main goals - improving voter turnout.
MacNamara: One of the things the Census found in 2008, one of the keys to all of this was registration. In 2008 I believe 90 percent of the folks that were registered turned out. 154 folks need to understand that if they don't get in there and register then they're not going to be able to vote.
MacNamara says she's heard the excuses. "My vote won't make a difference, I don't know about the candidates, I missed the registration deadline." She says the League helps voters overcome such obstacles, because a working democracy depends on participation.
MacNamara: Informing yourself and getting in there and making choices makes the whole process better for all of us and means that we've got a much more vibrant government going forward.
MacNamara says in our system, greater voter participation translates into better decisions, in terms of representation.
Additional Info & Links:
http://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/pamphlets/faqs.shtml
http://www.dalcoelections.org/voters.asp
http://tcweb.tarrantcounty.com/evote/cwp/view.asp?a=771&q=468205
http://www.co.collin.tx.us/elections/voter_registration/index.jsp
https://elections.dentoncounty.com/goVR.asp?Dept=82&Link=292