Yesterday, Republican presidential nominee Donald J. Trump suggested to his rally crowd that America should cancel the election and just give the presidency to him. "Why are we even having it?" he asked.
Why, indeed, Mr. Trump! Perhaps, we are having the election because we live in a democracy, not a dictatorship. You don't get to change the rules in the middle of the game, and a good sport does not whine about things being "rigged" when he realizes he is going to lose fair and square.
Despite Mr. Trump's suggestion to cancel the election, folks are flocking to the polls during early voting like never before. In Dallas County, and throughout Texas, more people are early voting this year than in 2008 and 2012. In Dallas County, on the first day of early voting, 58,344 voters came to the polls, compared to 34,415 in 2008. It is estimated that at least half of the voters in this election will early vote.
The record-breaking numbers for early voting aren't the only sign that Texans are eager to vote. For this election cycle, 15 million Texans registered to vote. That number represents approximately 80% of the voting age population of Texas. In Dallas County alone, over 100,000 voters have registered to vote since the 2012 presidential election. The current number of registered voters in Dallas County is the most registered voters our county has had since 2000.
Last week, a Washington Post poll showed Trump only 2 points ahead of Clinton in Texas. Immediately, Hillary Clinton began buying more ads to run in Texas, and she sent more representatives to talk to Texas voters. Cher came in Friday night, and today (Saturday), Secretary Julian Castro and Congressman Joaquin Castro will appear for a Democratic rally at 6pm at Four Corners Brewing Company in Oak Cliff. Suddenly, political pundits are referring to Texas as a battleground state. Our state government, long-dominated by Republicans, is now within reach, and it is foreseeable that Texas could turn blue, with all 38 electoral votes going to Hillary Clinton.
A presidential candidate needs 270 Electoral College votes to win. The states with the largest number of electoral votes are California (55), Texas (38), New York (29), Florida (29), Illinois (20) and Pennsylvania (20). According to political consultant Nate Silver of fivethirtyeight.com, all these states (except Texas) are already going with Clinton. In fact, Nate Silver estimates that Hillary Clinton will receive 325 electoral votes, with Trump falling 59 electoral votes short.
For the first time since Jimmy Carter was elected in 1976, Texas could go blue. Things are going our way, but it will take a lot of work to pull ahead of Donald Trump in Texas. If we work together, we can do it. Please help in one of the following ways:
