LETTER TO THE EDITOR
As a veteran who proudly served this country, I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States — not a political party. In some ways, my prior service still shapes how I see my responsibilities as a citizen today.
That’s why I’m deeply concerned by the recent joint motion filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and the Texas GOP, which urges the courts to immediately close the Republican Primary to only registered party members.
Texas doesn’t require voters to register by political party. That’s not a loophole — it’s a feature of our system. It gives every eligible voter the freedom to help choose candidates in publicly funded elections, including primaries. Nationally, over half of post-9/11 military veteran voters consider themselves as Independents – myself among them. Closing our primaries would mean shutting out millions of independent- minded Texans — veterans like me among them — who intentionally choose not to affiliate with a party. Our nation needs renewed civic participation and respectful political discourse now more than ever; closed primaries would hand further power to Democratic and Republican party elites, shutting out independent- minded Texans by design.
Before moving to Texas, I was first registered in another state as a Democrat, then changed party affiliation to Republican, all while feeling that neither party consistently represented my core beliefs. I didn’t wear a uniform for Democrats or Republicans — I served for all Americans. Being apolitical during our service doesn’t mean veterans are apathetic or disengaged. On the contrary, we are deeply invested in our communities and the future of our republic. I know I’m not the only veteran who’s guided by values like patriotism, public service, freedom and family — not partisanship.
Let me be clear: the primaries in Texas are funded with public dollars. That means all voters should have access to them. Every taxpayer in this state, regardless of party affiliation, helps pay for those elections. If we’re footing the bill, we should have the freedom to vote.
Closing the Republican Primary would require a complete overhaul of the state’s voter registration system — one that was never built to track party affiliation. That means redesigning infrastructure, retraining election officials and poll workers, and launching a massive voter re-registration campaign, all at the cost of Texas taxpayers. With all the challenges that Texas is facing right now, is this really the priority?
This isn’t just a bureaucratic headache — it’s a threat to the principle of fair and open elections that I served to defend. By forcing voters to affiliate with a party just to participate, we’re saying that political power matters more than the freedom of every citizen to have a say. That’s not the Texas I believe in.
I am merely one of many Texas veterans who don’t feel comfortable swearing loyalty to an insider-only party apparatus. We need leaders who trust the people, not ones who try to control the electorate to suit their own political ambitions.
I urge the courts to reject this motion. Let’s keep Texas primaries open, fair, and free — for every Texas voter who wants to have a say in shaping our future.
Tony Manning Veteran, United States Marine Corps
