The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

Opinion States should embrace participatory democracy

April 30, 2021 at 5:06 p.m. EDT
People cast their ballots at a polling location on Oct. 13, 2020, in Austin.
People cast their ballots at a polling location on Oct. 13, 2020, in Austin. (Sergio Flores/Getty Images)

Regarding the April 23 news article “GOP defiant on Tex. vote proposals”:

Texas does have a verifiable voting problem, even with its record 2020 turnout. The problem is not voter fraud but voter suppression. Texas has 22.3 million possible, eligible voters. In the 2020 election, 11.3 million cast ballots for president, representing about 50 percent of eligible voters.

Sign up for a weekly roundup of thought-provoking ideas and debates

 If voter suppression is a myth, as state officials said, why did approximately 50 percent of the Lone Star State’s potential voters not participate in the 2020 election?

Perhaps Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) should share the values of a participatory democracy and realize the importance of engaging all citizens in the elections of their nation.

 Let’s work to increase voter participation, not decrease it. 

Fred P. Crouch, Washington

Read more letters to the editor.

Loading...