CONSTITUTION AMENDMENT RESULTS: VOTERS APPROVE ALL BUT ONE OF TEN AMENDMENTS
Voters in Washington County approved nine out of the ten proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution in Tuesday’s election.
The only amendment that failed to pass was Proposition 1, which would have permitted a person to hold more than one office as a municipal court judge at the same time. That proposition saw 1,032 votes in favor, and 1,829 in opposition.
Local results mirror those seen statewide: Proposition 1 was the only amendment to fail when tallying ballots across the state.
Arguably the amendment with the most eyes on it, Proposition 4, which would make it more challenging to enact a state income tax, had 2,407 “yes” votes and 480 “no” votes.
Several amendments had a close race. Proposition 9, which would create property tax exemptions for precious metals held in state depositories, had 1,583 votes for and 1,204 votes against.
Proposition 6, doubling the maximum amount of bonds legislators can issue on behalf of the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas—to $6 billion—received 1,669 votes in favor, and 1,180 votes in opposition.
Proposition 2, allowing the Texas Water Development Board issue $200 million in bonds for water supply and wastewater projects in low-income areas, passed with 1,693 votes for the proposal, compared to 1,136 against.
Proposition 7, doubling the cap on the Available School Fund, which provides classroom materials and funding for schools, saw 2,018 voters approve and 822 oppose.
Proposition 8, creating the Flood Infrastructure Fund to finance large-scale flood-prevention projects, had 2,071 votes for and 787 votes against.
The remaining three amendments passed with overwhelming support from Washington County voters. Proposition 3, providing temporary property tax exemptions for property damaged in governor-declared disaster areas, saw 2,484 voters approve and 377 oppose.
Proposition 5, earmarking all revenue from the sporting goods sales tax for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Texas Historical Commission, passed with 2,658 votes in favor, compared to 234 in opposition.
The final amendment, Proposition 10, allowing for former handlers or qualified caretakers to adopt retired law enforcement animals without a fee, passed with the most support. It had 2,727 votes for, and only 158 against.
The election garnered 2,916 total votes in Washington County. More than half of those were early votes, with 1,462 early ballots cast. Tuesday saw 1,409 votes cast at the four open voting locations in Washington County, and 45 ballots were absentee.
The voting results are considered “unofficial” until they are canvassed by Washington County Commissioners.