By Lauren Fairbanks and J Pete Laney
TAD Governmental Affairs
With 17 constitutional amendments on the Nov. 4 ballot, Texans had plenty to consider at the polls. Of them more than 18.4 million Texans are currently registered to vote, about three million voters, or nearly 15% of all registered voters, made their voices heard. This turnout set a new record for off-year election turnout in Texas, beating the previous high in 2023, when 2.56 million people voted (14.5% of registered voters).
Texans approved all 17 constitutional amendments on the ballot, for items which included expanding the homestead exemption, funding billions of dollars in water infrastructure and dementia research, and extending tax exemptions on animal feed when it is held as inventory. You can view the final results of each of those measures below.
In addition to constitutional amendments, some Tarrant County residents weighed in on the special election for Senate District 9. There was a three-way race to fill the SD 9 seat, vacated by Kelly Hancock when he became acting Comptroller earlier this year. No candidate won outright, and the race will go to a runoff on Jan. 31 between Democrat Taylor Rehmet and Republican Leigh Wambsganss. Wambganss is Patriot Mobile’s chief communications officer, and Rehmet is a leader of local and state branches of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union. Rehmet was the lead vote getter with 47% of votes to Wambsganss’ 36% and former Southlake Mayor John Huffman’s 16%.
This race is just the tip of the iceberg in election news. Candidate filing opened Nov. 8 and will close at 6 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 8. During these 30 days, candidates must declare their intent to run for office by filing with their respective parties in order to ensure their place on the March primary ballot.
Currently there are 19 open seats anticipated in the Texas House, while a handful more are possibly before the deadline. The Texas Senate currently has two vacancies, and there will be at least five newcomers to the 31-member body in 2027 due current members retiring or going on to other roles.
Constitutional amendment election results
Here are the vote totals for the constitutional amendments.
Proposition 1 – “The constitutional amendment providing for the creation of the permanent technical institution infrastructure fund and the available workforce education fund to support the capital needs of educational programs offered by the Texas State Technical College System.”
For 2,041,859 votes 69.03%
Against 916,217 votes 30.97%
Proposition 2 – “The constitutional amendment prohibiting the imposition of a tax on the realized or unrealized capital gains of an individual, family, estate, or trust.”
For 1,937,917 votes 65.37%
Against 1,026,718 votes 34.63%
Proposition 3 – “The constitutional amendment requiring the denial of bail under certain circumstances to persons accused of certain offenses punishable as a felony.”
For 1,809,465 votes 61.14%
Against 1,150.122 votes 38.86%
Proposition 4 – “The constitutional amendment to dedicate a portion of the revenue derived from state sales and use taxes to the Texas Water Fund and to provide for the allocation and use of that revenue.”
For 2,077,449 votes 70.42%
Against 872,670 votes 29.58%
Proposition 5 – “The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to exempt from ad valorem taxation tangible personal property consisting of animal feed held by the owner of the property for sale at retail.”
For 1,847,664 votes 63.61%
Against 1,057,001 votes 36.39%
Proposition 6 – “The constitutional amendment prohibiting the legislature from enacting a law imposing an occupation tax on certain entities that enter into transactions conveying securities or imposing a tax on certain securities transactions.”
For 1,588,054 votes 54.87%
Against 1,306,101 votes 45.13%
Proposition 7 – “The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to provide for an exemption from ad valorem taxation of all or part of the market value of the residence homestead of the surviving spouse of a veteran who died as a result of a condition or disease that is presumed under federal law to have been service-connected.”
For 2,542,959 votes 86.25%
Against 405,386 votes 13.75%
Proposition 8 – “The constitutional amendment to prohibit the legislature from imposing death taxes applicable to a decedent’s property or the transfer of an estate, inheritance, legacy, succession, or gift.”
For 2,140,379 votes 72.22%
Against 823,406 votes 27.78%
Proposition 9 – “The constitutional amendment to authorize the legislature to exempt from ad valorem taxation a portion of the market value of tangible personal property a person owns that is held or used for the production of income.”
For 1,896,300 votes 65.04%
Against 1,019,501 votes 34.96%
Proposition 10 – “The constitutional amendment to authorize the legislature to provide for a temporary exemption from ad valorem taxation of the appraised value of an improvement to a residence homestead that is completely destroyed by a fire.”
For 2,632,027 votes 89.28%
Against 315,875 votes 10.72%
Proposition 11 – “The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to increase the amount of the exemption from ad valorem taxation by a school district of the market value of the residence homestead of a person who is elderly or disabled.”
For 2,294,314 votes 77.68%
Against 659,066 votes 22.32%
Proposition 12 – “The constitutional amendment regarding the membership of the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, the membership of the tribunal to review the commission’s recommendations, and the authority of the commission, the tribunal, and the Texas Supreme Court to more effectively sanction judges and justices for judicial misconduct.”
For 1,796,384 votes 61.9%
Against 1,105,659 votes 38.1%
Proposition 13 – “The constitutional amendment to increase the amount of the exemption of residence homesteads from ad valorem taxation by a school district from $100,000 to $140,000.”
For 2,348,815 votes 79.41%
Against 609,203 votes 20.59%
Proposition 14 – “The constitutional amendment providing for the establishment of the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, establishing the Dementia Prevention and Research Fund to provide money for research on and prevention and treatment of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and related disorders in this state, and transferring to that fund $3 billion from state general revenue.”
For 2,016,281 votes 68.57%
Against 924,001 votes 31.43%
Proposition 15 – “The constitutional amendment affirming that parents are the primary decision makers for their children.”
For 2,065,714 votes 69.87%
Against 890,983 votes 30.13%
Proposition 16 – “The constitutional amendment clarifying that a voter must be a United States citizen.”
For 2,132,473 votes 71.95%
Against 831,308 votes 28.05%
Proposition 17 – “The constitutional amendment to authorize the legislature to provide for an exemption from ad valorem taxation of the amount of the market value of real property located in a county that borders the United Mexican States that arises from the installation or construction on the property of border security infrastructure and related improvements.”
For 1,668,285 votes 57.42%
Against 1,237,102 votes 42.58%
