Millions of Texans don’t vote. We asked some why they avoid the polls. Here are their stories

One woman has always voted but now feels it’s futile.

Another hasn’t voted consistently, but is now convinced her vote does matter.

A college student says she is confused by the election process.

They are among the thousands of Tarrant County area residents who don’t vote or typically haven’t voted. And they’re not alone. Texas’ turnout is among the lowest in the country, despite candidates and advocates’ efforts to bring more people into the mix. In the 2020 presidential election 10.3 million Texans did not vote, almost half of the state’s 21.6 million people who are of voting age.

But by definition, non-voters are elusive. They’re hard to poll. Hard to turn out.

They may skip Election Day because of a lack of knowledge. They may feel their vote doesn’t matter. Other life obligations might take priority. Some may see barriers, like limited poll hours or a lack of transportation.

“It’s a tough nut to crack, because these are the people who are least likely to answer survey questions,” said Rebecca Deen, an associate professor of political science at UT Arlington. “They’re hardest to reach, right? So it’s a really interesting puzzle that we don’t have good information about.”

About 389,300 people voted early in person in Tarrant County, not including about 20,700 mail-in ballots returned as of Friday. There are nearly 1.3 registered voters in the county, according to the Texas Secretary of State’s office. Roughly 432,800 people voted early in person in Tarrant County in 2018 and 33,400 by mail during the early voting period.

Midterms typically have lower turnout than that of presidential election years, where national attention on races drives voters to the polls. Topping the Texas ticket on Tuesday is the governor’s race between Republican Incumbent Greg Abbott and Democrat Beto O’Rourke.

With Election Day Tuesday, potential North Texas voters are deciding whether to go to the ballot box or sit the midterm out.

Longtime voter sits midterm out

Lisa Sandlin of Fort Worth won’t be voting on Tuesday. It’s not a decision she’s happy about, but the 61-year-old feels it’s her only option. She did the same in 2020, when former President Donald Trump, a Republican, and President Joe Biden, a Democrat were on the ballot.

“I’ve voted every opportunity since I was 18 years old and able to vote, up until the last presidential election,” Sandlin said. “I did not vote because I didn’t have anybody to vote for.”

There was “no way” Sandlin was going to support Biden. Trump was probably the better candidate, in her opinion, but she was uncomfortable with voting for him.

“I know it’s kind of a slippery slope and a Catch 22, because it’s very sad for me to not be able to vote,” Sandlin said. Soon adding, “I felt like it was worse for me to vote for somebody that I had zero faith in.”

When it comes to Abbott and O’Rourke, both are too extreme in their policies, she said.

And at the end of the day, she feels her vote doesn’t matter.

“It’s horrible,” she said. “But I have to weigh out what I’m personally comfortable with, and not voting is the only option that I can come up with.”

Confusion about the election process

Denys Guerrero was old enough to vote in November 2021 — a low-profile election with Texas and local propositions on the ballot — and in the May city elections before that. Now 19, she’ll turn 20 in the days after Tuesday’s midterm. She wants to vote but is unclear on the process: How to learn about the candidates and pick who she supports.

“I don’t even know who I’m voting for because I’m not really sure how to check that kind of stuff,” she said, sitting in a window-filled room on Tarrant County College’s Trinity River Campus where she studies art.

It’s not something Guerrero recalls learning in school. If and when she goes to vote, she may just pick the candidates at random.

“I tried looking for the resources, but it’s very complicated,” Guerrero said. “I was expecting, like, a website where they give you the name and like a fun fact and what they want.”

But she didn’t find that information readily available.

Guerrero’s not sure how much her vote matters.

“Honestly, I have no idea,” she said.

She hopes it does.

Working for change, trying to vote

Shirlley Richardson’s past lack of voting does not equate a lack of trying.

In 2016, the now 26-year-old Tarrant County College student didn’t have necessary identification to vote. Texas requires voters to have a photo ID or submit a Reasonable Impediment Declaration and supporting documentation when they head to the ballot box.

Four years later when it came time for the 2020 presidential election, the country was in the middle of a pandemic. Richardson said she tried to vote by mail but isn’t sure the ballot made it through.

It’s important to try and vote to make a change, Richardson said.

“For all of the people who want change and never do anything about it,” Richardson said.

This time, Richardson said she was able to vote early. She cast her ballot for O’Rourke, pointing to shootings that have happened in the state.

“We need gun control, for real, because too many people are dying,” Richardson said.

‘Disinformation’ complicates voting process

Colt Matheson, 28, finds voting unapproachable — a feeling that only increases with time and an intensifying political climate. He grew up near the Texas-Oklahoma border and now lives in Dallas. He was visiting Fort Worth on Thursday, sitting outside for a morning breakfast stop at a coffee shop, as he reflected on voting in Texas.

Matheson said he’s never voted.

“I feel like, especially with so much disinformation out there, it is increasingly more and more difficult to really know where someone lies, and, I guess, what their intentions are. ... That along with, sort of, my just habitual misunderstandings of the larger systems in place has really sort of turned me off of voting in general,” Matheson said.

He pays attention to politics at a surface level and leans liberal, but dislikes the lack of gray area in politics.

“I just feel like it tends to get so nasty, so quickly, and it really sort of has a way of bringing out the worst in people,” Matheson said. “That is another reason I think that I tend to sort of just avoid it and steer clear for the most part.”

Matheson said he knows voting is an important right that isn’t afforded to everyone. He believes he’s registered to vote in Texas and feels strongly that he should vote in the midterm.

“What better time than now, right?” Matheson said.

Not registered to vote

Sharon Johnson, 45, has lived all around North Texas but calls Fort Worth home. Johnson usually doesn’t vote, and isn’t sure if she’s eligible. Johnson isn’t registered to vote.

But even if not an active participant, Johnson knows the importance of elections.

“We need to vote now because there’s so much going on in the world now,” Johnson said. “We need to vote. We need to get the right people in here. We really do.”

Transportation is bad, Child Protective Services poor, the police department needs counseling, health care should be better, including for the elderly and kids need better education, she said.

Johnson wants Abbott in office again.

“He’s a strong man,” Johnson said. “He can get things done. Him and Obama.”

From disinterested to voting

Lindsey Gates, 40, has typically been disinterested in voting. It’s something she didn’t think mattered. But that changed when she saw people from her church, Mercy Culture, run for office.

“It matters,” the 15-year Fort Worth resident said. “It does make an impact. I mean, I’ve seen it. I’ve seen people go from nothing to large support, to being heard, to being seen.”

The Fort Worth church has been active in local politics. Notably, one of its members Nate Schatzline is running for the Texas House of Representatives.

Gates has voted in presidential elections before but suspected the midterm is her first Texas and county election to participate in. Leaning on her faith, Gates votes based on what she believes is right and wrong.

“So me biblically, it’s not standing for Republican versus Democrat,” Gates said.

One issue driving her to the polls is abortion — O’Rourke goes so far in his position, she said.

“It just ignited something in me,” Gates said. “I can’t stand still or be silent and not be a part of the change.”