Today were the Texas primaries, and for the first time since I’ve lived here (and longer than that from what I hear), they mattered. While I always vote in presidential elections, I think I’ve skipped at least one primary (possibly two) here since the nominee (and therefore the Texas choice for president) is usually decided by the time Texas votes.

In Texas, voters can vote in either primary without registering ahead of time. This year I voted in the Democratic primary so my vote would actually count for something. The Democrats also hold caucuses in Texas, so some delegates are chosen by popular vote, and some by caucus. Kind of silly, but tonight I decided to go to the caucus as well to see what that was about. Most people in Texas, even politically active Democrats, weren’t familiar with this process because it hasn’t ever been a factor before. Apparently, most years almost nobody shows up at the caucuses and the precinct captain just picks delegates from people he knows. This year was different, though. Tonight at my precinct caucus, there were hundreds of people. The majority were for Obama, although not as much of a majority as I originally thought. After the tallying for the caucus, delegates were chosen for the county convention, and I am going to be a delegate. I thought it would be interesting, even though I don’t really identify with either party. State convention delegates are chosen at the county convention, and national convention delegates are chosen at the state convention, but I think one day of watching grass grow with a bunch of blowhards will be enough for me.