Top 5 secret perks of voting in the GOP Primary
We thought about keeping this to ourselves. But we decided that because voter turnout is so incredibly low this time in both the Republican and Democratic primaries locally, we wanted to sweeten the deal for our fellow Repubs.
While we encourage you to learn about the candidates appearing on your ballot (early voting ends Friday, Feb. 25, by the way) and help pick the most qualified and experienced to appear on the November General Election ballot, there are some more selfish reasons for you to cast your ballot in the March 1, 2022, Republican Primary.
Voting in the GOP primary means you're ...
AN INDEPENDENT THINKER
Since Texas is the first primary in the nation this year, cable news outlets haven't given the average voter tuned in to national headlines their marching orders yet. But you don't get all your news from the talking heads, do you? (If you're reading this, you probably don't!) So get ahead of the lines and vote now before it becomes cool, you hip Austin voter, you.
FAMILIAR WITH THE CANDIDATES
You'll see many of these names again in November. Now is a great opportunity to get to know their qualifications, their backstories, and their voting history and help make a better case as to why we should elect a Republican over a Democrat in any given race come this fall. Prospective voters will come to you with questions as to why they won the primary. The information you dig up now will come in especially handy if you still work at one of those offices with a watercooler where people like to catch up on current events or the latest episode of “Yellowstone.”
PLUGGED IN
Your vote in the Republican Primary is your ticket to your Precinct Convention, which is Step 1 to global domination the rest of the Republican convention process. Our precinct conventions are scheduled for Saturday, March 5 (full list of times and locations coming very soon). This is where the entire process of being an active Republican starts -- where delegates are selected and resolutions are first drafted for the party platform, and sent up the chain. If you’ve ever wanted to be on the ground floor of modern politics, this is your chance to make your dreams a reality. It’s also a great opportunity to meet with fellow Republicans in your neighborhood and hatch a plan to balance out all those ridiculous we believe in science signs in your neighborhood.
AN ACTUAL REPUBLICAN
Psst! Texas doesn't have party registration. And “card carrying” means you made a donation to the state party and got a wallet-sized calendar for your generosity (which is a good idea — and don’t forget us little people). But if someone says they're a "registered Republican" either they're a) not from Texas or b) they voted in the GOP primary! That's all it takes: simply vote. See if you’re signed up to vote in Travis County. We have what is commonly referred to as an Open Primary system, so your vote in it is your membership card/stamp/certificate/secret tattoo for the Republican Party of Texas and in America.
A COMMUNITY LEADER
If you've ever entertained thoughts of being chairman of your neighborhood association, volunteering for your church board, serving as PTA president, or taking over your badminton club, listen up: There are a little under 900,000 registered voters in Austin. Right now the voting turnout is 5% of that. Which means if you vote today you will have voted for 19 people who didn't vote or haven’t voted. And when you consider that roughly 1.4 million people consider Travis County their home that means you represent over 30 people who did not or could not vote at this time. Think of voting in the primary as your first role as a representative. So go ahead and start humming “Hail to the Chief” — we’ll let you.
Now consider yourself an insider! Early voting continues through Friday, Feb. 25, with Primary Election Day being Tuesday, March 1. To learn more visit TravisCountyGOP.org/vote.
