A new nation
Record-breaking turnout at the polls by millennials marks the end of a political era.
The kids are all right.
Yes, even if Beto O’Rourke lost. Some young people who watched election results late into the night are probably still refreshing their computer screens in disbelief. Some, who voted for the first time, block-walked for the first time, cared for the first time, are wondering if it was all for naught.
They don’t quite understand what they’ve accomplished. It’s something far beyond putting a three-term Democratic congressman from the outpost of El Paso within striking distance of Ted Cruz, a Republican U.S. senator in the deepest of red states. It’s something more than nearly thwarting the GOP machine with a wiry romantic of a candidate who seemed to roam effortlessly across 254 counties fueled by little more than coffee, Whataburger and an optimism Texas hadn’t seen in years.
What the young people accomplished in showing up at the polls was to reveal the full face of Texas. They signaled that they are watching with discerning eyes. They won’t abdicate their civic responsibilities to older generations. They will not be quiet.
What they showed the nation is this: Texas is not a caricature. It is nobody’s forgone conclusion. It is a growing, vibrant state with a fresh generation of voters waking to their potential.
And Texas, thanks to the young people, is finally in play.
That’s good for all of us. It means Texas gets more attention during elections, and from Washington. It means that incumbents cannot rest leisurely on their partisan laurels. They have to try. They have to campaign. They have to do what we elect them to do. Iron sharpens iron, and Republican voters should be pleased to see their elected officials finally facing worthy opposition.
The final midterm results went as the polls predicted. Democrats won the national tally of votes by nine percent, winning the House but not the Senate. Harris County was swept by a blue wave that, as we write this, has Republican County Judge Ed Emmett clinging on for political life while the rest of his countywide Republican colleagues were washed out.
Democrat Lizzie Fletcher is on a path to victory over longtime Republican Congressman John Culberson, and several races for state representative seats that used to be solidly red have come down the wire. The real surprise of the night was Fort Bend County, which, according to the latest results, went for Democrats. Consider this a major shift in Texas politics.
Turnout among young voters — ages 18 to 29 — is on track to be the highest for a midterm in more than three decades. It shows millennials and their younger cohort are ready to step up. If only baby boomers would let them.
All across the nation, long lines, broken machines and other polling place mishaps put a barrier between voters and the ballot — and placed an asterisk next to election results in tight races. Such irregularities are becoming far too regular.
Here in Harris County, Election Day was vexed by delays, malfunctioning machines, and, in at least one circumstance, a racist poll worker harassing an African-American voter. The county was also successfully sued after some polling locations didn’t unlock their doors on time and were compelled to stay open an extra hour. At Rice University, students reported waiting nearly 100 minutes to cast their ballots. The University of Houston and Texas Southern University lacked on-site early voting.
Voting is a right, and any barrier that makes the election process anything but a seamless and simple procedure should be treated as an attack on our national values. This isn’t a problem isolated to red states. From Georgia to New York City, voters found themselves confronting an election infrastructure that seems specifically designed to protect those already in power and discourage turnout among those who aren’t already politically connected. All too often that means brown and black voters.
Voter suppression tactics have no place in a nation that holds itself up as a beacon of democracy. But no stopgap trickery can stop the wave of newly engaged citizens coming of age at a pivotal time. Something has turned over in Texas, and it’s not just the Harris County judiciary.
The millennial voters are nearing their 40s. They’re climbing the ranks at work, starting families and maybe even buying homes, if they’ve paid off their student loans. Now they must confront the last gasp of a fading power structure that has left behind a legacy of debt, war and crumbling infrastructure. Unfair as it may seem, responsibility will fall on these young adults to fix the problems of their predecessors. The first step: make it easier for all eligible Americans to exercise their right to vote.
Young people sent a powerful message Tuesday night. We heard you. The nation heard you. Don’t go silent now.