On Nov. 4, Texas citizens will flock to the polls as they vote on the Texas Constitutional Amendment Election. As a college student, it can be difficult to take the time to research what’s on the ballot. Never fear! I’ve created a one stop shop with information on what the election is, how to go vote, and what you’re voting on.
What is a Constitutional Amendment Election? Constitutional Amendment Elections are super underrated. In Texas, the proposed amendments (also called propositions) are put on a ballot for Texas citizens to vote on. If a proposition gets a 50% “yes” vote, then it gets put into the Texas Constitution, and is very difficult to get rid of.
These elections tend to have pretty low turnout (most Texans don’t vote in them), which means two things. First, it’s slippery of the government: ideas that most people disagree with get made into laws because people don’t vote in these smaller elections. Second, for people who do vote, they make a bigger impact.
Okay, but how do I actually vote? Going to the polls can be stressful, but with a little bit of planning, the experience is easier. Here are the steps to consider:
1. Where do I vote? For a lot of counties, you can vote at any polling location within the county. Some counties, however, require you to vote at specific locations. You can check where you should vote at your county website. I’ve linked the ones close to UNT below.
- Denton County
- Collin County
- Dallas County
- Tarrant County
- You can also find polling locations at VoteTexas.gov
2. What do you need to bring? The only thing you technically need to bring is a valid photo ID, although I would also recommend bringing your physical voter registration just in case. (Don’t know if you’re registered? You can check for free here.) A valid photo ID is any of the following:
- Texas Driver License
- Texas Election Identification Certificate
- Texas Personal Identification Card issued by the Department of Public Safety (DPS)
- Texas Handgun License issued by DPS
- US Military Identification card containing your photograph
- US Citizenship Certificate containing your photograph
- US Passport (book or card)
3. How do I remember what I want to vote for? Even if you do research before, you might be nervous about forgetting. Don’t worry! Although you can’t use your phone while voting, you can bring notes or a sample ballot.
- What is a sample ballot? A sample ballot is a ballot you print out before voting, which you are free to mark up and write your voting decisions on. Then, when you go to actually vote, you can just copy your sample ballot onto the real one.
So, what’s actually on the ballot this year? There are 17 new constitutional amendments being proposed and voted on in this election. I’ll give you a quick summary of each, with a few of my own thoughts.
(Want more information? The League of Women Voters of Texas provides an excellent Voters Guide if you’re interested in more information on each proposition. If you want to read the official amendment language, you can check it out here. I also find this plain language summary by Texas AFT and this analysis by Sophia Mirto to be super helpful.)
Proposition 1 would create a permanent fund for the Texas State Technical College (TSTC) System, supporting educational programs and building new facilities.
- My vote? I lean yes.
- Although I don’t think this amendment is perfect, I lean yes. Trade schools are similar to community colleges, and are one of the more affordable ways to access higher education and gain technical skills. By enshrining permanent funding for the TSTC, it protects it from fluctuating budgeting. This amendment doesn’t raise taxes, it just changes where existing funding goes.
Proposition 2 would make it impossible to tax capital gains (aka money made from investments).
- My vote? I’d say no.
- I don’t like this proposition, so I would say no. There’s a few reasons for this. First, Texas doesn’t even tax capital gains, and has no plans to. Second, the majority of capital gains are made by the ultra rich in Texas. If these taxes ever did exist, they would most likely be used to close the wealth gap, and might be able to help fund schools, housing, and food programs for the poorest of Texans. This proposition would just protect the rich.
Proposition 3 would allow judges to deny bail to people accused of certain felonies.
- My vote? Absolutely not.
- This is my least favorite proposition; I give it a hard no. This amendment would require judges to deny bail to certain Texans, who have not yet been convicted of a crime, where they would be jailed for months or possibly years before their trial. Although I have a lot of thoughts on the bail system in the first place – it disproportionately hurts poor people and people of color – denying bail to people before they have been convicted only worsens the situation.
Proposition 4 would dedicate $1 billion dollars of sales tax to the Texas Water Development Board.
- My vote? I lean no.
- This is one of the most hotly debated propositions, but I would lean no. Although I agree that Texas is in need of better water infrastructure, I have concerns about the mechanisms that this proposition enables. The Texas Water Development Board is led by only 3 people, which are chosen by the governor. Given the governor’s history, I don’t necessarily trust that the board will use the funding as intended, and nowhere in the amendment does it address water conservation (which should be a key component of the plan). There have also been concerns raised about how this money might be used to support AI data centers, which consume large amounts of water.
Proposition 5 would make animal feed exempt from property taxes while sitting in inventory.
- My vote? I lean no, but it’s close.
- As of right now, animal feed is tax exempt at all stages except for when it’s sitting in inventory at a retail store. The reason I lean no on this is twofold: first, getting rid of these taxes doesn’t guarantee lower prices or help small farmers; and second, this is part of a larger trend of the GOP attempting to lower property taxes – and in turn, lowering public school funding, which they’ve been legislating for and attempting to do for years. I’ll get into it a bit more on propositions 11 and 13.
Proposition 6 would ban taxes on securities transactions (aka the buying and selling of stocks and bonds).
- My vote? I’d say no.
- This proposition, similar to proposition 2, is meant to stop laws that don’t exist with the purpose of protecting the rich. Not only does Texas not have taxes on these transactions, but no state has taxes on them. If, however, there are budget problems in the future and Texas cannot tax these transactions, the burden will be shifted to sales taxes on lower-income people.
Proposition 7 would give property tax exemptions to surviving spouses of veterans who died from service-connected causes.
- My vote? I lean yes.
- This proposition would help veterans’ families stay housed. Although it is a property tax exemption, it is for a small group of people and thus would have a small impact on school funding.
Proposition 8 would prohibit the state from taxing the inheritance or estate of a deceased person.
- My vote? I’d say no.
- Like propositions 2 and 6, this proposition is meant to stop laws that don’t exist and protect the rich. There are currently no taxes on the inheritance or estate of deceased persons. If there ever were, however, it might help to reduce the wealth gap.
Proposition 9 would allow the legislature to exempt certain business personal property from property taxes.
- My vote? I’d say no.
- This proposition follows the pattern we see in a lot of these propositions: attempting to reduce property taxes. Property taxes are used to fund public education, safety, and infrastructure. This proposition attempts to get rid of those critical taxes in favor of businesses.
Proposition 10 would temporarily exempt homes that have been destroyed by fire from property taxes.
- My vote? I’d say yes.
- This property tax exemption helps a very small number of people (so it wouldn’t hurt public schools), and it would provide relief to homeowners who have just experienced disaster.
Proposition 11 would give greater property tax exemptions to people older than 65 and Texans with disabilities.
- My vote? Absolutely not.
- Although this proposition might seem fine on it’s face, there’s a lot of problems with it. First, as mentioned before, this is a major property tax exemption – which means it would hurt public services like schools, healthcare, and infrastructure. It would give this exemption to more than 2 million people, the majority of which are boomers. Boomers own the most houses of any generation, and thus are the main source of property tax revenue. Although the legislature claims it plans to reimburse impacted schools, I’m suspicious of how effective it will be – even if they do manage to make up the funding they’re attempting to decimate, it will probably come out of other taxes that impact low-income people more.
Proposition 12 would completely overhaul how the State Commission on Judicial Conduct (SCJC) runs, and give the governor more power.
- My vote? Absolutely not.
- This proposition gives too much power to the executive and legislative branch, and especially too much power to the Governor. It would increase the number of appointees by the governor from 5 to 7, and get rid of the Texas Bar appointees. All would be subject to the advice and consent of the Texas Senate, and the minimum age of appointees will increase from 30 to 35. This feels like a gross overreach, in my opinion.
Proposition 13 would increase the school homestead property tax exemption from $100,000 to $140,000.
- My vote? Absolutely not.
- This proposition is yet another attempt to reduce funding for public schools. This could result in higher sales taxes, higher taxes on businesses, or underfunding of public schools. It doesn’t help renters, and even though the law claims to refund schools, the underfunding of schools could get worse if the economy slows.
Proposition 14 would establish and fund a Dementia Prevention Research Institute (DPRIT).
- My vote? I’d say yes.
- Although I don’t think this amendment is perfect (agency leaders would be appointed by politicians, and might not be the most qualified), I think the need for dementia research and prevention is high. This proposition, I think, would do more good than harm.
Proposition 15 would affirm that parents are the “primary decision makers for their children” and put the language in the Texas Constitution.
- My vote? I’d say no.
- Parents already have constitutional rights to make decisions for their children based on federal case law – this proposition seeks to more firmly establish this right. I don’t like it, and I can predict a few negative consequences. First, this amendment could further disrupt public school education, as parents who disagree with standardized curriculum try to control it. Second, elevating the rights of parents could make it harder to intervene when there is child abuse and neglect.
Proposition 16 would clarify that only US citizens can vote.
- My vote? I’d say no.
- This proposition is dumb. You are already required to be a citizen to vote – although it’s not stated in the Texas Constitution, you have to be registered in order to vote, and you have to be a citizen to register. If this proposition is put in the Texas Constitution, however, it will work hand in hand with the SAVE Act, which gives the state direct access to citizenship data (which could potentially be used to purge votes and intimidate naturalized citizens).
Proposition 17 would give property tax exemptions to certain counties on the Mexico border for “border security infrastructure and related improvements.”
- My vote? Absolutely not.
- This proposition is both a property tax exemption (which hurts public services and shifts the burden to other property owners) and an incentive for militarization of the border. Also, “border security infrastructure” is not defined, so the legislature could interpret it to mean all kinds of things. Putting this in the Texas Constitution is a bad idea.
Although this election may seem small, it’s consequences are anything but. Make sure you go to the polls tomorrow, and make your voice heard!