Lappie, John2019-03-052019-03-052017Lappie, John. "The State of Local Democracy in Houston and Harris County." (2017) Rice University and Kinder Institute for Urban Research: https://doi.org/10.25611/zewt-6spu.https://hdl.handle.net/1911/105212Despite being part of the most diverse metropolitan area in the country, Houston and Harris County struggle to field and elect Hispanic and women candidates to local office, according to this analysis of elections from 2004 through 2016. The report also includes recommendations for improving representation in local office and encouraging voter turnout.The governments of Harris County and the City of Houston have many vital powers, but relatively little is known about the nature of local elections in either jurisdiction. This study attempts to fill this gap by examining the nature of participation, looking at both voters and candidates, in Harris County and Houston local elections. The results indicate that local democracies in Harris County and Houston have many challenges. Relatively few people vote in local elections, a high proportion of local elections are uncontested and both the electorate and the candidate pool fail to reflect the area’s population.engCopyright ﾩ2017 by Rice University Kinder Institute for Urban Research. All rights reserved.ReportKI_2017_LocalDemocracy_LEAPhttps://doi.org/10.25611/zewt-6spu