Paper Example. Texas Electoral System

Federalism is a form of government that combines the national government with different regional states of governments within a single political system. Power is shared among the central government and the various local governments for effective administration and equal resource distribution (Champagne & cheek, 2001). Therefore, the paper focuses on identifying the current federal and Texas laws that regulate elections and the general electoral process in Texas.

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There are two systems of conducting elections in the United States. Single- winner system is one way of carrying out elections through which a single candidate is elected in an office. The seat of the United States president is a single- winner election because one single chief executive is what is provided for in the constitution (Champagne & cheek, 2001). Over a four-year term, only a single candidate can serve in the office of the president. The second system of conducting elections is a multi-winner system where various candidates are running for office.

After an election, various tallying forms can be used depending on the type of election conducted. There are multiple ways for single-winner election systems in which tallying is completed (Champagne & cheek, 2001). First off, there is a majority voting system through which at least 50 percent of the votes won by the candidate for them to be declared a winner. In any case, none of the vying candidates do achieve the set minimum threshold; a runoff election will be conducted between the first two with the most votes. The system is also referred to as a two-round system. The plurality voting system is the second form of conducting elections where candidates who win the largest share of votes win the election (Champagne & cheek, 2001). Unlike the majority voting system, the winning candidate does not have to meet a set threshold; they will be declared winners when they have the most votes than the other candidates. The third form of tallying election results is a voting system where voters choose the candidates by casting their ballots. The winner is declared when most of the first preference votes are won (Champagne & cheek, 2001).

For an individual to be eligible for voting in Texas, they have to be residents residing in the area covered by the election for the office they want to vote and (Hall, 1992). The individuals must satisfy the requirements of being a qualified voter, all in line with the constitutional laws. The secretary of state is the chief election officer in the state. Therefore, the secretary shall develop an election division with enough staff to perform their function as the chief election officer. The election officers are charged with the process of assisting and advising voters during the day of elections (Hall,1992). The secretary of state has the mandate to protect the voting rights of the voters. They also ensure that the election officers are kept in line and do not use the powers vested to influence voter decisions (Grant, 2017).

According to the constitution, the county and state officers' general election shall be conducted on the first Tuesday that precedes the first Monday in November in even number years after. The gubernatorial elections in Texas are conducted every four years on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Together with the governors' election, the county and state officers' election does not coincide with the presidential election (Grant, 2017). For a person to be an eligible candidate for election, the state of Texas must be above 18 years of age and have lived within the country for 12 continuous months and resided for six months in the territory in which they want to be elected (Grant, 2017). For an independent candidate vying for office, a declaration of intent is required, and the application is filed within the stipulated dates of application. They must also provide signed petitions by the voters in the state, precinct, or district they are vying in. For political party candidates, they must have been nominated in the party either through a convention or through primary elections that have been held within the party. If a vacancy occurs in an office on and before the set deadline, a political party nominee is nominated for the unexpired term.

Despite all the procedures to ensure a flawless election, some flaws are encountered in the electoral process. In Texas, election officials may throw out the mail-in ballot in the 2020 elections because they might be suspecting the signature, and therefore, a voter should have a right to contest the doing and claim their vote. Texas provides a chance for the elderly above 65 years of age to cast mail-in ballots and voters outside the county during the election period. Voters who have been incarcerated but are eligible for voting may as well be allowed to vote through the mail and allowed to exercise their right to vote (Grant, 2017). Before these mail-in votes are counted, a group of local election officials reviews them to ensure that the signatures match with the ones that the voters registered with. The committee of election officials may as well compare it to signatures on file and the voter registrar.

Rejection of the cast in mail ballots may cost a lot to an individual running for office. Therefore, it is so that the election officials do not just reject the mail-in votes based on suspicion. Still, they should inform the voters through the mail of their rejection notices within one day of mismatch so that in any case, a new cast has to be made; it is done within the stipulated time. All polling stations are open 7.a.m to 7 p.m. central time on Texas's election (Grant, 2017). If you are queueing in line and the closing time for voting has reached, you will still vote. Texas also permits early voting, and therefore, it means that voters can cast their votes before the election date, and the voter does not have to have a reason for why they will be unable to vote on election day.

Through primary elections, registered voters in Texas select an individual they believe should be candidates that will run in the general elections for a political party. Therefore, this allows Texans to choose their preferred candidate making the elections free, fair, and credible. Through the open primary election system used in Texas, voters don't need to register with a party before the election to participate in the primaries. Therefore, the Texas voting system ensures that all voters, regardless of their location, age, or criminal record, are eligible for voting and electing a leader that best suits their preferred choice.

References

Champagne, A., & Cheek, K. (2001). The cycle of judicial elections: Texas as a case study. Fordham Urb. LJ, 29, 907.

https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/ulj/vol29/iss3/7/

Grant, D. (2017). The ballot order effect is huge: evidence from Texas. Public Choice, 172(3-4), 421-442.

https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/pubcho/v172y2017i3d10.1007_s11127-017-0454-8.html

Hall, M. G. (1992). Electoral politics and strategic voting in state supreme courts. The Journal of Politics, 54(2), 427-446.

https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.2307/2132033