CORPUS CHRISTI, Tx — As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 8,394 voters went to the polls or voted by mail for early voting in Nueces County. That’s over 113 more voters that showed in 2024 in comparison to the 2020 election.
But there are some who are choosing not to participate. One of the reasons is lack of information.
“The lack of knowledge as far as who to go for, what policies and the different districts," resident Theodore Chavarria said. "I'm registered to vote, but this is just too overwhelming to even comprehend."
There are more than 213,622 registered voters in Nueces County. Those who are choosing to opt out of voting also said it’s due to a lack of representation and believe candidates are not trustworthy.
“Who’s going to best represent us, who’s going to have our ideals in place," resident Justin Avalos said. "There’s a lot of fatigue with promises not being kept from the candidates. How am I supposed to vote for these people and I don't even know who they are or what they stand for?”
KRIS 6 political analyst Dr. David Smith believed voting has not been inviting for the younger generation. He said the reason is there aren't candidates who bring modern perspectives.
“They [voters] want new voices, new individuals to be challenging for that position because that’s really the epicenter and the epitome of what we define as politics in America in the presidential election," Smith said.
Smith also mentioned that it can be a lack of follow through from politicians that lead people to stay home rather than go to the polls.
“The lack of follow through is causing a mistrust amongst the average voter which is leading to apathetic or even they’re basically just turning off." Smith said.
He added that there are several ways that can help encourage people to vote.
One is for election candidates to have more community presence and transparency but the other is for voters. They should increase their knowledge and research, so they are fully prepared to participate in the election.
Smith added that it's important for community members to have a say in who is running in their county.
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