Delegates at the Texas Democratic convention in El Paso this week are set to vote on a party rule change that, if passed, would add a “no preference” choice to presidential primary ballots.
A “no preference” option would give voters in the Democratic primary an official option if they don’t like the candidates. While the state election code gives parties the right to add a no-preference option on their primary ballots, this will be the first time the Texas Democrats allow it.
“There's been this trend in the last couple of years where voters are not happy with their choices on the ballot,” said University of Houston Political Science professor Brandon Rottinghaus.
Delegate Wesley Lawrence introduced the potential rule change at last week’s rules committee meeting because he and some democrats didn’t know how they would vote in the Super Tuesday primary after President Joe Biden's handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
“There were like thousands of people that undervoted in the race for president and their voices weren't heard,” Lawrence said.
Tension between delegates
The Democratic Rules Committee passed the potential rule change 18-14 last week. Party delegates will now vote to approve this party rule and others this weekend.
While delegates debated the rule proposal, party business advisor Marco Orrantia said that this rule could potentially cause chaos at the national convention because a candidate may not have enough delegates to clinch a nomination due to the no-preference voters.
“We are the Democratic Party, and we have to protect our interests,” Orrantia said during the discussion on the rule.
Other delegates expressed concerns of weakening a potential candidate or making the state party look fractured — a criticism levied at the Texas Republican Party.
Delegate Dylan Russell said the presidential elections are too serious for people to “waste” their votes, pointing to the 2000 presidential election and blaming third-party voters for the result and, ultimately, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“It reminds me of Ralph Nader in Florida,” Russel said. “We got George W Bush. How many people died because of that?”
Others said a no-preference option would make a candidate stronger, not weaker.
“It allows them to address the issue that voters have with them in the primary before it gets to the general election,” said delegate Tracy Miller.
Those who favored the rule pointed to Michigan Democratic voters — around 100,000 of whom voted for the uncommitted option on the Democratic ballot during the presidential primary to show disapproval of Biden's handling of the war in Gaza.
On Super Tuesday, thousands of Democratic primary voters chose no preference in nine other states. Polling shows Biden struggling with younger voters dissatisfied with his handling of the conflict, inflation, and immigration policies.
Lawrence emphasized that this proposal isn't “anti-Biden,” and Texas Democrats will vote for Biden this November.
But he said “no preference” gives voters more options in future elections.
“It's giving hope to young people,” Lawrence said. “People that have felt that they've been disenfranchised in our party for a very long time.”
Both Texas Democrats and Republicans have pushed changes to the balloting process. Unlike the Republican delegates at their convention, Democrats don’t plan to change the state election code.
Those changes highlight how seriously the ballot box matters, Rottinghaus said. And it shows how the two parties have different approaches to catering to their base.
“Republicans want to be more insular while Democrats seemingly saying they want to be more open,” he said.
Delegate Lawrence understands people's concerns about the risk of this change but feels this will help energize people to vote and potentially make the party more progressive.
“I believe that our democracy works best when we allow people to voice their concerns and post their feelings,” Lawrence said.
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