WRITE OF CENTER ENTER
In the U.S., political campaigns use data on more than 250 million voting-age Americans to inform their strategies and tactics. The political parties use data to target voters in specific ways, an edge that was key in both Barack Obama’s and Donald Trump’s victories.
Republicans and Democrats hire data firms to create detailed profiles of voters with thousands of data points and build models that predict people’s stances on issues or candidates. It goes beyond standard demographics (e.g. Caucasian female, age 25-34), to in-depth psychographics (e.g. interests, attitudes and behaviors).
Political campaigns use these data to help decide whom to reach, how to reach them and how they might respond to certain messages. Public-government sourced databases are not that refined, therefore limiting what we in the public can see.
What we do have available to the public comes from the County Elections Office. It tells a story that gives us some basis for planning.
But, before I go any further, the where and how, the source and medium by which you and I can see voting data, is available to anybody who can access the internet. Go directly to the best elections administrator and staff in the state, right here in the Kendall County Elections Department. It’s headed by Administrator Staci Decker. This is where she posts election results: https://www.co.kendall. tx.us/page/Elections. ElectionResults.
I say “the best in the state” because Staci has a huge reputation statewide for running the tightest, most honest possible elections. She has mentored many election administrators throughout the state and has created a group of local election officials from nearby counties to collaborate and share ideas on how to improve elections.
Having served as one of her trained, volunteer polling- place election judges, my experience proves without a doubt that we’re in excellent hands in this county when it comes to voting.
Back to the data. Statistics are a part of our everyday life. Is what we can pull down from the county elections office the best stats you will have ever seen? No, but they’re telling, nonetheless.
They demonstrate how, without further research, we can underestimate the tremendous changes in our county now, and those anticipated, if we don’t look at the data and what they have to say.
Let’s look at the changes in total voter turnout from the March 2022 to the March 2024 primary elections. We know there’s traditionally a much larger turnout for the general elections, but comparing the two recent primaries alone are interesting.
There was a marked change from 2022 to 2024 in the registered voters count: 35,370 to 37,736; and in ballots cast:10,257 to 11,792. Those numbers reflect a change from 29% to 31.25%. What does that tell us. If nothing else, it validates the significant increase in new residents.
The good news for the Kendall County Republican Party: there were 1,424 more Republican votes cast in 2024 vs 2022. But for the County Democrat Party, there was a change of one fewer Democrat in 2024, from 1,088 to 1,087.
Don’t let those numbers fool any county Republican to rest on their laurels. The larger, state and national Democrat Party is funding efforts to turn that trend around at the grass roots level and beyond.
It’s what happened in Hawaii for instance. The soldiers returning from WWII came back to a staunchly Republican government and wanted to turn that around. Many of those soldiers, folks like Dan Inouye and Danny Akaka, pursued local appointed and elected positions. Then, with name recognition and community influence, they were able to work their way up the political food chain over time.
That same kind of approach has succeeded in certain Texas municipalities. Let’s not let it happen here. Get out the vote in this election and the one in November.
Let’s not assume we’re mighty strong and we’ll just keep on winning. Instead, let’s know that we’re a target and can only retain our strength by continued exercising — exercising our right to vote.
Art Humphries is a Kendall County Republican
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