Tag: texas
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Abbott signs bills altering election administration in Harris County
On June 20, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed two bills affecting the administration and oversight of elections in Texas’ largest county, Harris County. SB1750 would transfer all powers and duties of a county elections administrator to the county tax assessor-collector and county clerk in counties with a population of more than 3.5 million. Harris…
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Election legislation roundup: Texas State Legislature
As of June 18, members of the Texas State Legislature, which includes the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas State Senate, have passed 34 bills related to election administration since the beginning of the year. Of those 34 bills, legislators passed zero during the week of June 12-18. Of the 34 bills passed this…
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Texas enacts legislative district boundaries identical to its previous boundaries
Texas enacted legislative district boundaries in June 2023 for use until the 2030 census due to legal concerns that the state’s 2021 districts could not be permanent since they were adopted in a special legislative session. The Texas Constitution requires that redistricting take place during a regular legislative session. The districts the state adopted this…
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Texas school board races still more competitive during odd-year elections but % of incumbents who lost re-election may buck trend
Texas school board elections tend to see more candidates file per seat in odd-numbered years than in even-numbered years. Between 2018 and 2023, odd-numbered election years have averaged 2.08 candidates per seat, while even-numbered election years have averaged 1.78 candidates per seat. The highest average number of candidates per seat in Texas school board elections…
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Election legislation roundup: Texas House of Representatives
As of June 11, Ballotpedia has tracked 188 election-related bills in the Texas House of Representatives since the beginning of the year. Of the 188, Ballotpedia tracked two from June 5-11. Democrats sponsored one, while Republicans sponsored the other. The two bills are below: TX HB22: Relating to electronic voter registration, Rep. John Bucy (D). As…
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Incumbents defeated in Texas city council runoff elections
The nonpartisan general runoff elections in city councils in San Antonio, Irving, Fort Worth, and Dallas, Texas, were on June 10, 2023. The general elections were held on May 6, and the filing deadline to run was on Feb. 17. At least two incumbents lost their re-election bids. Results were as follows: San Antonio City…
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Election legislation roundup: Texas State Legislature
As of June 11, members of the Texas State Legislature, which includes the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas State Senate, have passed 10 bills related to election administration since the beginning of the year. Of those 10 bills, legislators passed four during the week of June 5-11. This is four more than the…
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Texas set to become ninth state to withdraw from ERIC, Arizona’s possible withdrawal vetoed by Gov. Hobbs (D)
Texas lawmakers sent SB1070 to Gov. Greg Abbot (R) on May 29, 2023, positioning the state to become the eighth to withdraw from ERIC this year, and the ninth overall. Elsewhere, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) vetoed SB1135 on May 26, a bill including provisions that would have effectively withdrawn Arizona from ERIC. ERIC is…
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Texas Senate appoints committee to develop rules for upcoming impeachment trial
The Texas Senate appointed a committee on May 29 to develop proposed rules for the upcoming impeachment proceeding against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R). The committee, consisting of five Republicans and two Democrats, was directed to propose rules for the trial by June 20. The Senate also adopted a resolution on May 30 calling…
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Texas State Legislature sends 13 ballot measures to the November ballot during its regular session—the most since 2007
Texas voters will decide on 13 constitutional amendments this November—the most since 2007 when voters decided on 17 measures on two election dates. The average number of measures appearing on Texas odd-numbered-year ballots was 14 between 1985 and 2021. The year with the highest number of measures was 1987 with 25 on one election date.…