By State Rep. Brooks Landgraf
On April 16, 1607, 104 brave men landed on the shores of Virginia to establish the colony of Jamestown. While their goals varied — from seeking economic opportunity to fleeing religious persecution — they collectively carried the seeds of human equality and representative government that would take root and flourish across our nation. This seed, however, was sown long before these early settlers arrived.
Its origins can be traced back to Genesis, which tells us, “The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living person.” This profound truth reminds us that we are all created by God, each made in His image, and thus inherently equal in worth and dignity. With this foundational belief in mind, we must ask ourselves: what gives one person the authority to govern over others? The father of liberty, John Locke answered this question best: “Men being, as has been said, by nature, all free, equal, and independent, no one can be… subjected to the political power of another, without his own consent.” This realization lays the groundwork for a form of government founded on the consent of the governed, a principle that is both natural and divinely ordained.
Armed with this understanding of liberty and equality, the Jamestown settlers established the first representative legislative body in our developing nation in 1619. This landmark achievement was only made possible through the act of voting. While voting at that time was limited by the narrow prejudices of the era — restricting the franchise to property-owning free men — it marked the first articulation of the fundamental idea of citizen voting and the principle of governance by consent on this continent.
From that moment, the concept of representative government controlled by the people’s vote spread to every American colony along the East Coast. When the British monarchy sought to extinguish this budding flame, our founding fathers fought valiantly to establish our nation and protect our liberties — choices made through the vote of representatives.
In 1788, the American people participated in their first general election, electing George Washington as our first President alongside 59 members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Fast forward fifty-eight years and over a thousand miles away, the independent nation of Texas embraced this same spirit of voting, holding its inaugural election that culminated in the election of Sam Houston as president and the selection of 39 representatives and senators to the Texas Congress. With Texas’s admission to the Union in 1845, the establishment of the Texas Legislature laid the foundation for voting on state representatives and senators, ensuring that the voices of every Texan would be heard on a more local level.
As our nation continued to grow, we made significant strides to expand voting rights, ensuring that the original principles of equality and the consent of the governed were upheld. Landmark changes, including the 15th and 19th Amendments, guaranteed that citizens of all races and both sexes could fully realize their divine right to determine who governs them.
On November 5th, we, the people of the Permian Basin, will again have the opportunity to participate in this centuries-old tradition. We will vote for the next President of our nation, one of our U.S. Senators, representatives to both the U.S. and Texas House of Representatives, and various local officials who play a vital role in our communities. As your state representative, I urge everyone, if you have not done so already, to make a plan to vote on election day. Voting is more than just a right; it is an expression of our consent, equality, and shared responsibility as citizens. Let us honor the sacrifices of those who fought for our right to vote by exercising this privilege with pride and purpose.
For more information on the 2024 general election and to find your closest polling place, please visit www.votetexas.gov. No matter who you plan to vote for or against, I hope every eligible voter takes the opportunity to cast a ballot.
God bless Texas!
