The 2023 Texas elections were held on November 7, 2023. Texas voters statewide voted on 14 proposed amendments to the

Texas Constitution The Constitution of the State of Texas is the document that establishes the structure and function of the government of the U.S. state of Texas and enumerates the basic rights of its citizens. The current document was adopted on February 15, 187 ...

. A special election took place to fill the vacancy from Texas's 2nd House of Representatives district, which was followed by a runoff on January 30, 2024. In addition, Texas counties, cities, and school and other special districts had local elections and other ballot issues, such as bond proposals.

State

Ballot measures

14 proposed amendments to the

appeared on the November 7, 2023 general election ballot in Texas. *Proposition 1 protected the "right to engage in farming, ranching, timber production, horticulture, and wildlife management". Yes check

Passed *Proposition 2 provided an exemption from county and municipal property taxes for "all or part of the appraised value of real property used to operate a child-care facility". Yes check

Passed *Proposition 3 prohibited any future imposition of a

wealth tax A wealth tax (also called a capital tax or equity tax) is a tax on an entity's holdings of assets or an entity's net worth. This includes the total value of personal assets, including cash, bank deposits, real estate, assets in insurance and ...

Passed *Proposition 4 made numerous changes to property tax calculation, notably an increase in the homestead exemption from school property taxes from $40,000 to $100,000, and would also add voter-elected members to larger county appraisal districts. Yes check

Passed *Proposition 5 created the Texas University Fund, which would provide a dedicated funding mechanism for universities that aren't part of either the

University of Texas System The University of Texas System (UT System) is a public university system in the U.S. state of Texas. It includes nine universities and five independent health institutions. The UT System is headquartered in Downtown Austin. It is the large ...

or the

Texas A&M University System The Texas A&M University System is a state university system in Texas and is one of the state's seven independent university systems. The Texas A&M University System is one of the largest systems of higher education in the United States, with a ...

but which have achieved "national prominence as research universities". Yes check

Passed *Proposition 6 created a new dedicated water fund to assist in various water projects. Yes check

Passed *Proposition 7 created a new dedicated energy fund "to support the construction, maintenance, modernization, and operation of electric generating facilities". Yes check

Passed *Proposition 8 created a new dedicated broadband fund "to expand high-speed broadband access and assist in the financing of connectivity projects". Yes check

Passed *Proposition 9 authorized a cost-of-living adjustment to certain annuitants of the

Teacher Retirement System of Texas Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) is a Pensions, public pension plan of the State of Texas. Established in 1937, TRS provides retirement and related benefits for those employed by the public schools, colleges, and universities supporte ...

Passed *Proposition 10 provided an exemption from property taxes for "equipment or inventory held by a manufacturer of medical or biomedical products to protect the Texas healthcare network and strengthen our medical supply chain". Yes check

Passed *Proposition 11 permitted conservation and reclamation districts in El Paso County to issue bonds supported by ad valorem taxes to fund the development and maintenance of parks and recreational facilities. Yes check

Passed *Proposition 12 abolished the office of County Treasurer in Galveston County (the text of the amendment requires not only the approval of a majority of voters statewide, but also a majority of voters within Galveston County). Yes check

Passed *Proposition 13 would have increased the mandatory retirement age for state justices and judges. X mark

Defeated *Proposition 14 created a new dedicated parks fund (the "centennial parks conservation fund") for the creation and improvement of state parks. Yes check

Passed

Special elections

2023 Texas's 2nd House of Representatives district special election

A special election took place in Texas's 2nd House of Representatives district to fill the vacancy created by the expulsion of Bryan Slaton. Slaton resigned from the seat on May 8, 2023, amid a sexual misconduct controversy and was subsequently expelled from the House. As no candidate reached the necessary 50% votes for victory in the November 7 election, Greg Abbott set January 30, 2024 as the date for the runoff election between Brent Money and Jill Dutton. Jill Dutton defeated Brent Money in the runoff by 111 votes.

November 7, 2023

= Candidates

Declared

* Kristen Washington ( Democratic), former member of the Greenville City Council * Jill Dutton ( Republican), trustee for the

Van Independent School District Van Independent School District is a public school district based in Van, Texas, Van, Texas (United States, USA). In addition to Van, the district serves the city of Edom, Texas, Edom and the unincorporated community of Ben Wheeler, Texas, Ben ...

* Heath Hyde (Republican), farmer * Brent Money (Republican), member of the Greenville City Council. * Doug Roszhart (Republican), member of the Greenville City Council * Krista Schild (Republican), state convention delegate

Withdrew

* Neal Barker (Republican), former board member and treasurer of the Northeast Texas Rural Rail Transportation District

= Endorsements

= Results

January 30, 2024 (Runoff)

Local

Ron Nirenberg Ronald Adrian Nirenberg (born April 11, 1977) is an American politician who is the mayor of San Antonio, Texas. Prior to his election, Nirenberg served as a member of the San Antonio City Council for District 8 for two terms. In 2013, Nirenber ...

, incumbent mayor of

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

, was re-elected.

John Whitmire John Harris Whitmire (born August 13, 1949) is an American attorney and politician who has served as the List of mayors of Houston, 63rd mayor of Houston, Texas, since 2024. Whitmire was previously a Democratic Party (United States), Democratic ...

won the open mayoral seat in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

References

{{2023 United States elections

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...