HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - Early voting in Harris County begins Wednesday for the $2.5 billion flood control bond.
Voting will run for two weeks. Election day is August 25th.
A new survey found that 55 percent of voters support the proposal.
35 percent of voters were undecided. Of course, these numbers could shift by election day.
The survey was conducted by the researchers with the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston. They talked to 815 Harris County residents this summer.
Flooding may be a community-wide issue for Houstonians, but only a very small number of people are expected to show up to vote. Only 58 percent of 2.2 million people will turn out. That means about 150,000 people will decide this for everyone.
The survey found older people are much more likely to vote on election day. They’re also much more likely to be in favor of the bond.
KHOU’s Political Analyst Bob Stein happened to be one of the researchers involved in the survey. He said whether someone personally flooded didn’t impact how they’d vote.
“We know in our community, 30 percent had some flooding. 10 percent had very severe flooding that cos them their homes or made them move out for periods of time, said Stein. “They are a minority. You would expect then that the majority would say why should we be paying for the benefit of the minority? This is not about them vs. us. Democrat vs. Republican. Flooded, not flooded.”
The people polled see flooding a s a community issue, not a personal one.
