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Don't forget that had just 5% more of the registered voters in 2016 voted for Hillary, TX would have been blue.
Biden was even closer to winning TX in 2020.
Your vote matters! Do not wait until the last minute to vote! We can not only turn TX blue for Harris, but we have another opportunity to rid ourselves of Cruz this year. There are also 3 seats on the TX Supreme Court, all US and TX reps, 15 state senators, railroad commissioners, 3 members of the criminal court of appeals, 7 members of the state board of education, and many more judges, sherrifs, and local officials among other positions at stake this election. Check all the offices here:
https://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/candidates/guide/2024/offices2024.shtml
Polls will open Oct 21-Nov 1, with one final day to vote on Nov 5. Polls will be open at least 9 hours the first week and at least 12 hours a day (typically 7 AM-7PM with no wait) during the second week, and at least 12 hours with a wait on the final day of voting.
Check your voter registration, important election dates, polling locations and hours (won't be posted until sometime in October), and more at votetexas.gov
Can someone please explain why a railroad commissioner is an elected position?
At the time of their invention, railroads were huge for industry. We could now transport a lot of heavy goods quickly across the state and country. We needed someone to be in charge of the railroads, trains, and their regulations.
Nowadays, the railroad commission doesn't have jurosdiction over rails in TX, instead they have primary regulatory jurisdiction over the oil and natural gas industry, pipeline transporters, natural gas and hazardous liquid pipeline industry, natural gas utilities, the LP-gas industry, critical natural gas infrastructure, and coal and uranium surface mining operations.
https://www.rrc.texas.gov/about-us/
I think the idead behind it being an elected position, rather than an appointed position, is to mitigate corruption. If the citizens see corruption taking place in the department, they can elect a new railroad commissioner in a few years that will set it all straight.