SD-25 Candidate Kathi Thomas on Why You Should Vote Today

You may think you need to "save yourself" to sign petitions for Kinky or Carol, but, honestly, your contested Democratic local candidates need your vote a LOT more than either of those 2 folks need your signature. (I also have to be honest and say that I think our Democratic candidates for governor are great, I'm really excited that we've got such a strong field this year.) As our wonderful candidate for Lt. Gov. Maria Luisa Alvarado reminds us, there are around TEN MILLION other registered voters in Texas who don't vote-not even in presidential races!!

So, if Kinky or Carol or anyone wants to be on the ballot, if they can't find ~46,000 of those registered but totally uncommitted voters to sign their petitions, then they're not looking too hard. Sadly, most registered voters do a "no show" for the primaries, even without being encouraged to stay away from the polls, usually less than 13% vote in the primaries ( Do you really want less than 13% of registered voters making the decisions on which of your candidates win the nomination- remember, we need the very best candidates.) Shoot, even if you're a Republican, I encourage you to vote in the primaries- let's get the biggest number of voices out there we can this year. :)

Here's reason why every Democratic registered voter should vote in the primaries:

1. We've got contested races- while this is GREAT to have so many Dems running for office, we need to nominate only one from each category- to make sure the candidates represent the greatest number of people, we should all vote- candidates shouldn't be nominated by less than 13% of registered voters!
2. Our local candidates will, frankly, affect your life a LOT more than will a governor (but we do have a contested Dem. primary in the governor's race, too)
3. People who vote in primaries overwhelmingly will vote in November, when every single vote is absolutely vital- become invested, vote!
4. Voting in the primary allows you to attend your precinct caucus and county convention, helping to shape the way YOUR county parties are run.
5. Voting in the primary doesn't tie you to vote a certain way in the fall- it is one ballot then, and you can vote however your heart and head lead you.
   

Asking people not to vote in their primaries so they can get the easy signatures isn't exactly what I'd want to hear from a future governor. (To be fair, Carol is telling people to vote if their primaries are contested- she is smart, and she knows she needs the Republican votes, and the only way to get them is for her to support the Repub. party.)

So, to summarize, VOTE, let Carol & Kinky find the their ~46,000 each so from registered voters who didn't bother to get off their duffs and go vote. If they're not willing to work hard enough to find them, then do you really want them on the ballot?(We won't go into if this is the "right" way to get independents on the ballot or not, but it is the way that is required right now.)

We need YOU to vote! (For the record, I am uncontested in the primary, but we've got some really good candidates who need your vote!)

Kathi