Houston Blogs: Roussel Blog

VIDEO: Roussel's Texas primary wrap up

Peter Roussel wraps up the Texas primaries on Eyewitness News This Morning.

VIDEO: Can you change your vote?

You wrote in with your questions, now Peter Roussel gives the answer.

If I am a typical Republican voter but I decided to vote today for a Democrat, but the person I voted for did not win the nomination and during the presidential election I decide to go back to Republican party am I able to do that?

Angela,
Houston

VIDEO: Are polls accurate?

You wrote in with your questions, now Peter Roussel gives the answer.

I read that the last polls were so inaccurate days before the NJ, CA, & AZ primaries due to the Hispanic vote. In polls, Hillary Clinton was up by one point, but won by more. Am I just being overly optimistic for Clinton or is that the same thing that we could see in Texas?

Fran
North Myrtle Beach, SC

Lest We Overlook The Basics

Amidst all the primary election hubbub, the basics of the voting process often get little notice.  This was brought home to me when doing a segment for Channel 13 and a discussion with Elissa Rivas regarding that process.

Question:  There are those who have expressed interest in voting for a presidential candidate in one primary, but voting for candidates for other positions in the other primary.  Can this be done?

Answer:  No.  When you go to vote, you will choose to vote in one of the party’s primaries and thus will be voting only for that party’s candidates. 

They’ll Be Flocking to the Polls

There has been much speculation about what has driven the extremely high turn out of voters during early voting in Texas and why there are predictions of a record turn out on Tuesday.

Yes, the hotly contested Democratic presidential primary contest has energized voters—traditional Democrats, independents (many of whom might ordinarily vote in the Republican primary) and first time voters.  And it has energized traditional Republicans to vote in the Democratic primary.

In addition, I think there are a couple of other factors.  For the first time since 1928 there is not a sitting president or vice president of either major party seeking the nomination.  This historical footnote to this election has been oft mentioned and thus I do think it is serving to inspire participation in the process. 

Lastly, I think Florida and the 2000 presidential election are still fresh in mind.  The closeness of that election reaffirmed that an individual’s vote does count.  That just may be in the back of many minds as voters flock to the polls in Texas and elsewhere.

- Peter Roussel