Voter turnout in Texas is dead last in America, study finds



>>> See close races in Texas to look out for A new study by the Washington Post finds that voter turnout in Texas is dead last in the nation, tied only with Washington D.C.

>>> See close races in Texas to look out for A new study by the Washington Post finds that voter turnout in Texas is dead last in the nation, tied only with Washington D.C. Photo: Getty Images Photo: Getty Images Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close Voter turnout in Texas is dead last in America, study finds 1 / 8 Back to Gallery

Only about one in three Texans line up at the polls during midterm elections, a new study on voter turnout in America finds.

In a Washington Post story examining how easy it is to vote in America, Texas came in dead last for voting in midterms.

The Lone Star State tied only with Washington D.C., a non-state where residents have no representation in the U.S Senate and House.

It's worth repeating: During election cycles where Congressional seats are up for grabs, Texans tied in voter turnout with a federal district that has no members of Congress.

To calculate findings, researchers analyzed voter turnout for the 2006, 2010 and 2014 midterm elections. In the last midterm election in 2014, only 28.3 percent of Texas voters went to the polls.

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According to the Texas Tribune, the low voter turnout can be explained by Texas' large young population, a demographic that votes less frequently than their older, whiter peers.

That said, the competitive political climate around the nation may change some of those depressing figures in the upcoming midterm elections. For example, Texas broke early voting records earlier this year due to a surge in Democrat participation.

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Fernando Ramirez covers Texas news and politics. Read him on our breaking news site and on our subscriber site. | Fernando.ramirez@chron.com | @fernramirez93



