Voter turnout tops 14%, statewide

NEWS STAFF REPORT

BROWNSVILLE, TX —According to the Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson, based on statewide election night returns, the estimated statewide voter turnout for Nov. 7 Constitutional Amendment Election is 14.4% of registered voters. This is the highest turnout for a constitutional amendment election since 2005, according to the Secretary of State. In all, more than 2.5 million Texans cast a ballot, Nelson reported.
“Texans came out to the polls and made their voices heard,” said Nelson.

Statewide, voters weighed in on 14 proposed constitutional amendments. Election night results for the propositions and for a special election for Texas House District 2 are available through the Secretary of State’s election night results portal. As a note, election night results are unofficial and may not reflect the final vote count.

In addition to the statewide propositions, some Texans had local elections on the ballot. Local election results are available through county websites.

Under a new law, the Secretary of State’s office is charged with setting a uniform date for runoffs resulting from an election held on a uniform election date. The runoff date for the Nov. 7 Election is Dec. 9. (This does not apply to the special election for HD 2.)

Secretary Nelson encouraged Texas voters to start preparing for elections in 2024.

“Primary elections are only a few months away on March 5,” said Secretary Nelson. “Now is a good time for Texans to plan for next year’s elections.”

The Texas State Teacher’s Association (TSTA) applauded Texas voters for approving Proposition 9 on the ballot, which provided an increase to the teacher’s retirement allotment, the first in a quarter century.

Ovidia Molina, TSTA President, and Barbara Davis-Staley, president of TSTA-Retired, released the following joint statement: “The Texas State Teachers Association, its affiliate, TSTA-Retired, and thousands of retired Texas educators give a big ‘Thank You!’ to voters who approved Proposition 9 on the statewide constitutional amendments ballot. It gives retired teachers and other retired public-school employees a long-overdue cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, in their Teacher Retirement System pensions.”

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