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In Texas, 14 statewide ballot measures were certified to appear on the ballot in Texas on November 7, 2023.

HIGHLIGHTS

The Texas State Legislature voted to refer 14 amendments to the November ballot—the most since 2007 which featured 17 measures.

During the 2023 legislative session, 297 constitutional amendments were filed in the Texas State Legislature for the 2023 ballot.

Want to learn more about ballot measures in other states in 2023?

• You can find a list of 2023's certified statewide ballot measures here.

• You can find a list of 2023's certified local ballot measures here.

• Here is a list of bills and resolutions passed passed in 2023 to change the laws governing ballot measures.

On the ballot

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result	Yes Votes	No Votes
LRCA	Proposition 10	Taxes	Authorizes an ad valorem tax exemption on equipment and inventory manufactured by medical or biomedical companies	a	1,370,569 (55%)	1,121,576 (45%)
LRCA	Proposition 11	Local gov't, Forests and parks, and Budgets	Authorizes the state legislature to permit conservation and reclamation districts in El Paso County to allow the county to issue bonds to fund parks and recreational facilities	a	1,526,830 (63%)	883,339 (37%)
LRCA	Proposition 12	Local gov't	Abolishes the Galveston County treasurer	a	1,212,667 (53%)	1,078,056 (47%)
LRCA	Proposition 13	State judiciary	Increases the mandatory retirement age for state judges from 75 to 79		932,834 (37%)	1,567,129 (63%)
LRCA	Proposition 14	Forests and parks and Budgets	Creates the Centennial Parks Conservation Fund	a	1,928,021 (77%)	591,658 (23%)
LRCA	Proposition 1	Con rights, Food and agri, and Natural resources	Establishes a right to farming, ranching, timber production, horticulture, and wildlife management in the state constitution	a	2,025,803 (79%)	537,666 (21%)
LRCA	Proposition 2	Property and Taxes	Allow local governments to exempt child-care facilities from property taxes	a	1,629,151 (65%)	885,704 (35%)
LRCA	Proposition 3	Taxes	Prohibit a wealth or net worth tax	a	1,712,458 (68%)	809,815 (32%)
LRCA	Proposition 4	Education, Property, and Taxes	Increase homestead tax exemption to $100,000 and increase state funding for public education	a	2,121,784 (83%)	421,177 (17%)
LRCA	Proposition 5	Education and Budgets	Renames the National Research University Fund to the Texas University Fund and establishes an ongoing revenue source from the accrued interest of the economic stabilization fund	a	1,622,620 (64%)	898,790 (36%)
LRCA	Proposition 6	Water and Budgets	Creates the Texas Water Fund to finance water projects	a	1,969,996 (78%)	566,712 (22%)
LRCA	Proposition 7	Energy, Utilities, and Budgets	Creates the Texas Energy Fund and authorizes funding to modernize electric generation facilities	a	1,644,279 (65%)	888,410 (35%)
LRCA	Proposition 8	Utilities and Budgets	Creates the Texas Broadband Infrastructure Fund to finance high-speed broadband access	a	1,750,736 (69%)	770,112 (31%)
LRCA	Proposition 9	Pension	Authorizes the state legislature to make cost-of-living adjustments or other benefit enhancements to eligible annuitants of the teacher retirement system	a	2,145,585 (84%)	416,824 (16%)

Getting measures on the ballot

Citizens

In Texas, citizens do not have the power to initiate statewide initiatives or referendums. Voters rejected a constitutional amendment to provide for the initiative and referendum process in 1914. As of 2023, the state allowed charter cities to have an initiative process for local ballot measures.

Legislature

The Texas State Legislature can refer statewide ballot measures, in the form of constitutional amendments, to the ballot in odd-numbered years and even-numbered years. However, as the legislature convenes regular sessions in odd-numbered years but not even-numbered years, most amendments have been referred to ballots in odd-numbered years. Between 1995 and 2022, 175 of 179 (97.8%) statewide ballot measures appeared on odd-numbered year ballots.

Texas is one of 16 states that requires a two-thirds vote in each legislative chamber during one legislative session to refer a constitutional amendment to the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 100 votes in the Texas House of Representatives and 21 votes in the Texas Senate, assuming no vacancies.

Context of 2022 elections

See also: Texas elections, 2022

In 2023, Republicans controlled both chambers of the state legislature, as well as the governor's office, making Texas a Republican trifecta. At the general election on November 8, 2022, Republicans retained control of the House and Senate, increased their 86-64 majority in the House, and gained one seat in the Senate. The new majority in the Senate following the election was 19-12. Changes in the state have impacted the prospects of constitutional amendments making the ballot. Republicans held 21 seats in the state Senate in 2018, which was enough to pass a constitutional amendment without support from Democrats. In 2023, Republicans held 19 seats, meaning at least two Democrats were needed to pass a constitutional amendment in the state Senate. In 2022, the last election in Texas featuring constitutional amendments, both amendments received unanimous support from Senate Democrats.

2023 proposals

During the 2023 regular legislative session, 297 constitutional amendments were filed in the Texas State Legislature for the 2023 ballot.

• Democrats filed 113 (38.0%) of the constitutional amendments.

• Republicans filed 184 (62.0%) of the constitutional amendments.

• In the state Senate, 93 (31.3%) of the constitutional amendments were filed.

• In the state House, 204 (68.7%) of the constitutional amendments were filed.

Gov. Greg Abbott (R) called a special legislative session on May 29. Nine amendments were filed for consideration. Seven in the House, and two in the Senate. None were referred to the ballot. On June 27, Gov. Abbott called a second special legislative session. Thirteen amendments were filed before the state legislature adjourned on July 13. One was referred to the ballot.

Referral of 2023 constitutional amendments

The following table illustrates the vote requirements for each constitutional amendment certified for the ballot, the votes each amendment received, and how Democrats and Republicans voted on each amendment in each legislative chamber:

[[Texas Proposition 5, Reorganization of University Funds Amendment (May 1919)|]]				Democrats	Republicans
Senate:	Required:	Yes votes: (%)	No votes: (%)	Yes: ; No:	Yes: ; No:
House:	Required:	Yes votes: (%)	No votes: (%)	Yes: ; No:	Yes: ; No:
Texas Proposition 6, Creation of the Water Fund Amendment				Democrats	Republicans
Senate:	Required: 21	Yes votes: 31 (100.0%)	No votes: 0 (0.0%)	Yes: 12; No: 0	Yes: 19; No: 0
House:	Required: 100	Yes votes: 142 (95.3%)	No votes: 0 (0.0%)	Yes: 60; No: 0	Yes: 82; No: 0
Texas Proposition 1, Right to Farming, Ranching, Timber Production, Horticulture, and Wildlife Management Amendment				Democrats	Republicans
Senate:	Required: 21	Yes votes: 31 (100.0%)	No votes: 0 (0.0%)	Yes: 12; No: 0	Yes: 19; No: 0
House:	Required: 100	Yes votes: 144 (96.0%)	No votes: 0 (0.0%)	Yes: 61; No: 0	Yes: 83; No: 0
Texas Creation of the Centennial Parks Conservation Fund Amendment				Democrats	Republicans
Senate:	Required: 21	Yes votes: 28 (90.3%)	No votes: 3 (9.7%)	Yes: 12; No: 0	Yes: 16; No: 3
House:	Required: 100	Yes votes: 123 (82.6%)	No votes: 21 (14.1%)	Yes: 61; No: 0	Yes: 62; No: 21
Texas Proposition 8, Creation of Broadband Infrastructure Fund Amendment				Democrats	Republicans
Senate:	Required: 21	Yes votes: 30 (96.8%)	No votes: 1 (3.2%)	Yes: 12; No: 0	Yes: 18; No: 1
House:	Required: 100	Yes votes: 128 (85.9%)	No votes: 10 (6.7%)	Yes: 61; No: 0	Yes: 67; No: 10
Texas Proposition 7, Creation of State Energy Fund Amendment				Democrats	Republicans
Senate:	Required: 21	Yes votes: 27 (87.1%)	No votes: 4 (12.9%)	Yes: 9; No: 3	Yes: 18; No: 1
House:	Required: 100	Yes votes: 103 (69.1%)	No votes: 35 (23.5%)	Yes: 27; No: 30	Yes: 76; No: 5
Texas Proposition 11, Authorize Bond Issues in Conservation and Reclamation Districts in El Paso County Amendment				Democrats	Republicans
Senate:	Required: 21	Yes votes: 28 (90.3%)	No votes: 3 (9.7%)	Yes: 12; No: 0	Yes: 16; No: 3
House:	Required: 100	Yes votes: 111 (74.0%)	No votes: 34 (22.7%)	Yes: 62; No: 0	Yes: 49; No: 34
Texas Proposition 5, Rename State University Research Fund and Establish Ongoing Revenue Source Amendment				Democrats	Republicans
Senate:	Required: 21	Yes votes: 30 (96.8%)	No votes: 1 (3.2%)	Yes: 12; No: 0	Yes: 18; No: 1
House:	Required: 100	Yes votes: 110 (73.8%)	No votes: 30 (20.1%)	Yes: 35; No: 24	Yes: 75; No: 6
Texas Proposition 9, Changes to Teacher Retirement System Amendment				Democrats	Republicans
Senate:	Required: 21	Yes votes: 31 (100.0%)	No votes: 0 (0.0%)	Yes: 12; No: 0	Yes: 19; No: 0
House:	Required: 100	Yes votes: 140 (94.0%)	No votes: 0 (0.0%)	Yes: 58; No: 0	Yes: 82; No: 0
Texas Proposition 2, Property Tax Exemption for Child-Care Facilities Amendment				Democrats	Republicans
Senate:	Required: 21	Yes votes: 25 (80.6%)	No votes: 6 (19.4%)	Yes: 12; No: 0	Yes: 13; No: 6
House:	Required: 100	Yes votes: 114 (76.5%)	No votes: 31 (20.8%)	Yes: 62; No: 1	Yes: 52; No: 30
Texas Proposition 4, Property Tax Changes and State Education Funding Amendment (2023)				Democrats	Republicans
Senate:	Required: 21	Yes votes: 31 (100.0%)	No votes: 0 (0.0%)	Yes: 12; No: 0	Yes: 19; No: 0
House:	Required: 100	Yes votes: 132 (88.6%)	No votes: 5 (3.4%)	Yes: 48; No: 5	Yes: 84; No: 0
Texas Proposition 3, Prohibit Taxes on Wealth or Net Worth Amendment				Democrats	Republicans
Senate:	Required: 21	Yes votes: 22 (71.0%)	No votes: 9 (29.0%)	Yes: 3; No: 9	Yes: 19; No: 0
House:	Required: 100	Yes votes: 101 (67.3%)	No votes: 45 (30.0%)	Yes: 16; No: 45	Yes: 85; No: 0
Texas Proposition 13, Increase Mandatory Retirement Age for State Judges Amendment				Democrats	Republicans
Senate:	Required: 21	Yes votes: 27 (87.1%)	No votes: 4 (12.9%)	Yes: 12; No: 0	Yes: 15; No: 4
House:	Required: 100	Yes votes: 141 (94.0%)	No votes: 5 (3.3%)	Yes: 63; No: 0	Yes: 78; No: 5
Texas Proposition 10, Tax Exemption on Medical Equipment and Inventory Amendment				Democrats	Republicans
Senate:	Required: 21	Yes votes: 26 (83.9%)	No votes: 4 (12.9%)	Yes: 12; No: 0	Yes: 14; No: 4
House:	Required: 100	Yes votes: 125 (83.9%)	No votes: 10 (6.7%)	Yes: 57; No: 0	Yes: 68; No: 10
Texas Proposition 12, Abolish Galveston County Treasurer Amendment				Democrats	Republicans
Senate:	Required: 21	Yes votes: 27 (87.1%)	No votes: 4 (12.9%)	Yes: 9; No: 3	Yes: 18; No: 1
House:	Required: 100	Yes votes: 106 (71.1%)	No votes: 32 (21.5%)	Yes: 41; No: 17	Yes: 65; No: 15

Media editorials

The table below records the endorsements of ballot propositions that were made by Texas media editorial boards.

Media	Prop. 1	Prop. 2	Prop. 3	Prop. 4	Prop. 5	Prop. 6	Prop. 7	Prop. 8	Prop. 9	Prop. 10	Prop. 11	Prop. 12	Prop. 13	Prop. 14
Austin American-Statesman	d	a	d	a	a	a	d	a	a	d	a	a	d	a
The Austin Chronicle	d	a	d	d	a	a	d	a	a	a	a	N/A	a	a
The Dallas Morning News	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Fort Worth Star-Telegram	d	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	d	a	a	d	a
Houston Chronicle	d	a	d	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
San Antonio Express-News	a	a	d	a	a	a	d	a	a	a	a	a	a	a

Historical facts

See also: List of Texas ballot measures

In Texas, a total of 281 ballot measures appeared on statewide ballots between 1985 and 2022. Two hundred forty-eight ballot measures were approved, and 33 ballot measures were defeated.

Texas statewide ballot measures, 1985-2022
Total number	Annual average	Annual minimum	Annual maximum	Approved		Defeated
				#	%	#	%
281	6.39	0	22	248	88.26	33	11.74

Texas ballot measures in odd-numbered years

Between 1995 and 2021, Texans decided on 175 statewide ballot measures appearing on odd-numbered year ballots. Voters approved 160 measures and defeated 15.

By topic

The following sortable table shows the topic breakdown for the 179 measures that were referred to Texas ballots between 1995 and 2022:

Topic	Number of measures
Administration of government	16
Bonds	21
Business regulation	9
Education	5
Elections	4
Government budgets and finances	16
State judiciary	10
County and local government	7
Property	11
State executive	4
Taxes	41
Transportation	4
Veterans	3
Civil and criminal trials and Law enforcement	6
Constitutional language	3
Natural resources, Forests and parks, and Animals	4
State legislature	1
Healthcare	3
Housing	2
Gambling	3
Term limits	2
Marriage	1
Pensions	1
Religion	1

Turnout

Between 1988 and 2023, the average turnout of registered voters in odd-numbered year elections featuring constitutional amendments was 11.1 percent—40 percentage points lower than the average turnout at general elections in even-numbered years. The lowest turnout for an odd-numbered year election during this period was 5 percent in 2011 when voters decided 10 constitutional amendments. The highest turnout for an odd-numbered year election during this period was 26 percent in 1991 when voters decided 13 constitutional amendments.

Not on the ballot

Type	Name	Subject	Description	Status
LRCA	Changes in Regulations Governing Bail Amendment	Law enforcement	Authorizes a judge or magistrate to impose the least restrictive bail conditions and to deny bail for certain crimes including, persons accused of a violent or sexual offense or continuous trafficking of persons
LRCA	Increased Homestead Exemption for School District Property Taxes Amendment	Taxes	Increases the homestead exemption for school district property taxes from $40,000 to $70,000
LRCA	Citizen Voting Requirement Amendment	Suffrage	States that persons who are not citizens of the United States cannot vote in elections
LRCA	Special Legislative Session to Continue Emergency Declaration Amendment	State legislatures and State executive officials	Requires the governor to convene a special legislative session to continue emergency declarations beyond 30 days under certain circumstances
LRCA	Energy Insurance Fund Amendment	Energy	Creates the Texas Energy Insurance Fund
LRCA	Changes to Legislative Session Procedures Amendment	State legislatures	Removes the 60-day period at the start of every legislative session that limits the items the legislature can address
LRCA	Mental Health and Brain Research Institute Amendment	Healthcare	Establishes the Texas Mental Health and Brain Research Institute and dedicates $3 billion from the general fund to a separate fund for its operation
LRCA	University Fund Amendment	Education	Renames the National Research University Fund to the Texas University Fund and establishes an ongoing revenue source from the accrued interest of the economic stabilization fund
LRCA	Property Tax Appraisal Limit Amendment	Taxes	Decreases the annual property tax appraisal limit from 10% to 5%
LRCA	Parental Right to Direct Child's Education Amendment	Education	Establishes a right in the state constitution for parents or legal guardians to direct a child's education
LRCA	Parental Right to Direct Upbringing, Education, and Health Care of Children Amendment	Constitutional rights	Establishes a parental right in the state constitution to exercise care, custody, and control of the parent’s child
LRCA	Increase Maximum Amount in Economic Stabilization Fund Amendment	State and local government budgets, spending and finance	Increases the maximum amount allowed in the economic stabilization fund
LRCA	Authorized Uses for State Highway Fund Amendment	State and local government budgets, spending and finance	Authorizes money in the state highway fund to be used for acquiring rights-of-way, to construct, and to maintain roadways for seaports, airports, spaceports, land ports of entry, and international bridges
LRCA	Permanent Funds for the Texas State Technical College System Amendment	State and local government budgets, spending and finance and Education	Creates the Permanent Technical Institution Infrastructure Fund and the Available Workforce Education Fund to support the Texas State Technical College System
LRCA	Creation of the State School Safety Fund Amendment	State and local government budgets, spending and finance and Education	Creates the State School Safety Fund to support projects that improve safety at public schools
LRCA	Property Tax Exemption for Disabled Adult Residents Amendment	Taxes	Authorizes a property tax exemption equal to the general school district residence homestead property tax exemption on the market value of a real property inhabited by a disabled adult
LRCA	Property Tax Exemption for Retail Animal Feed Amendment	Taxes	Authorizes a property tax exemption on the tangible personal property consisting of retail animal feed on the owner's property
LRCA	Changes to Closing Requirements for Home Equity Loans Amendment	Banking	Authorizes the state legislature to pass laws to allow exceptions to the constitutional requirements surrounding the closing of a home equity loan
LRCA	Land and Water Conservation Fund Amendment	Natural resources and Water	Creates the Texas Land and Water Conservation Fund to preserve natural resources in the state
LRCA	Power Resiliency Fund Amendment	Energy	Creates the Texas Power Resiliency Fund to finance backup power sources
LRCA	Create Grow Texas Fund Amendment	State and local government budgets, spending and finance	Creates the Grow Texas Fund to finance infrastructure needs in areas of Texas where oil and gas are produced
LRCA	Severance Tax Revenue and Oil and Natural Gas Defense Fund Amendment	Natural resources	Creates the Texas Severance Tax Revenue and Oil and Natural Gas Defense Fund
LRCA	Laws Governing the Termination of Parole Amendment	Law enforcement	Authorizes the state legislature to pass laws allowing courts to terminate the sentence of a person who has served their full parole
LRCA	Property Tax Exemption for Surviving Spouses of Members of the U.S. Armed Services Amendment	Taxes	Expands the property tax exemption for surviving spouses to include all members of the U.S. Armed Services not just military members
LRCA	Recovery of Damages for a Homicide Amendment	Civil and criminal trials	Authorizes recovery of exemplary damages by surviving parents, spouses, or estates for homicides
LRCA	Water Infrastructure Fund Amendment	Water and State and local government budgets, spending and finance	Creates the Water Infrastructure Fund and allocates certain amounts of sales tax revenue to the fund
LRCA	Farm Products Property Tax Exemption Amendment	Taxes	Authorizes the state legislature to define farm products and in the hands of the producer as it relates to property tax exemptions
LRCA	Rainwater Harvesting or Graywater System Property Tax Exemption Amendment	Taxes and Water	Authorizes the state legislature to allow county commissioners court to exempt from ad valorem taxation the assessed value of property related to rainwater harvesting or greywater system installation
LRCA	Property Tax Limit for Disabled or Elderly Residents Amendment	Taxes	Authorizes a taxing unit other than an educational institution to provide a property tax limit on homesteads of elderly or disabled residents with certain income levels
LRCA	Sporting Betting Legalization Amendment	Gambling	Legalizes sports betting on certain sporting events and dedicates revenue to property tax relief
LRCA	Right to Medium of Exchange Amendment	Business regulation	Provide for the right to own, hold, and use a mutually agreed upon medium of exchange
LRCA	Commutation of Punishment to Individuals Serving a Term of Imprisonment Measure	Civil and criminal trials	Provide for a court to grant a commutation of punishment to certain individuals serving a term of imprisonment
LRCA	Exclude Property Tax Payments to School Districts from Appropriations Limit Amendment	Taxes and State and local government budgets, spending and finance	Excludes funds allocated by the state legislature to pay for property tax cuts to school districts from the constitutional appropriations limit

Local ballot measures

See also: Texas 2023 local ballot measures

Click here to read more about 2023 local ballot measures in Texas.

State profile

Demographic data for Texas
	Texas	U.S.
Total population:	27,429,639	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	261,232	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	74.9%	73.6%
Black/African American:	11.9%	12.6%
Asian:	4.2%	5.1%
Native American:	0.5%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0.1%	0.2%
Two or more:	2.5%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	38.4%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	81.9%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	27.6%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$53,207	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	19.9%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Texas. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Texas

Texas voted Republican in all six presidential elections between 2000 and 2020.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, one is located in Texas, accounting for 0.5 percent of the total pivot counties.

Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Texas had one Retained Pivot County, 0.55 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.

More Texas coverage on Ballotpedia

• Elections in Texas
• United States congressional delegations from Texas
• Public policy in Texas
• Influencers in Texas
• Texas fact checks
• More...

See also

• 2023 ballot measures
• Texas 2023 local ballot measures
• List of Texas ballot measures
• Texas State Legislature

External links

• Texas Elections Division
• Texas State Legislature