Reprinted from www.dailykos.com
Many cringe whenever they hear that Texas is a Red state. Demographically it seems impossible. Texas is a majority minority state. Specifically, non-Latino Whites make up 44 percent of the state. Latinos make up 38 percent of the state, Blacks 12 percent and Asians 4 percent.
Blacks, Latinos and Asians vote overwhelmingly Democratic (Latinos 70 percent+, Blacks 90 percent+, and Asians 70 percent+ in the last election). To be clear, this devotion to the Democratic Party is dictated entirely by policy. Republican hostility towards policies beneficial to minorities and outright prejudice makes that party unacceptable to most minorities.
Given the above mentioned demographic percentages, if all groups voted with similar intensity it is mathematically impossible for Texas to be a Red state or a Purple state. Many attribute Texas redness to gerrymandered districts. That is partially true when one notes that the Texas Congressional delegation is two third Republican. It does not explain that all statewide office holders are Republican and all U.S. senators are Republican.
Republican control of Texas is effected by the fact that Texas is ranked 51st in voting. Many attempt to attribute this to voter suppression. Texas puts up many subtle obstacles that while not voter suppression effectively suppresses the vote.
Anyone wanting to register voters must become deputized by taking a class in any county they want to register voters. In metropolitan areas like Houston, it means a person wanting to cover that area may need to take 5 classes. Texas also purges voter rolls frequently. This again does not stop one from voting but slows down the process by requiring provisional ballots that many won't be patient enough to fill out manually. With the Supreme Court gutting the Voting Rights Act, the Texas attorney general is reinstituting the voter ID law which will force only a select few pieces of IDs to be valid to use for voter identification. Ironically, a gun permit will be allowed as valid ID while a school ID will not.
