Editor’s Note: The Rider asked UTRGV political science professors to explain the significance of the proposed constitutional amendments. This is the first of two articles.
Early voting for the Nov. 7 election on 14 proposed Texas constitutional amendments, including a larger homestead exemption and the creation of energy and water funds, starts Oct. 23 and continues through Nov. 3.
As of Oct. 2, Hidalgo County had registered 423,930 people to vote and as of last Tuesday, Cameron County had registered 228,739.
Starting at 7 a.m. Oct. 23, voters can cast early ballots in the UTRGV Student Academic Center on the Edinburg campus or at the main Hidalgo County polling site in the Annex Room, located at 317 N. Closner Blvd. in Edinburg, which houses the county’s elections department.
The Cameron County Judicial Complex, located at 954 E. Harrison St. in Brownsville, is one of the 16 polling locations in the county and opens for early voting at 9 a.m. Oct. 23.
UTRGV experts explained what some of the proposed constitutional amendments mean and their importance.
Mark Kaswan, a political science professor at UTRGV, said Proposition 3 is about wealth tax.
“What it does is it establishes a constitutional ban on the creation of a wealth tax in Texas,” Kaswan said. “It’s kind of symbolic, really, more than anything at this point. Texas already has a ban in place on an income tax. So, the Texas Constitution actually makes it impossible to establish an income tax unless a new constitutional amendment is passed.”
He said a wealth tax looks at how many assets individuals have and how much they owe and taxes them based on the difference.
Proposition 4 would increase the required residence homestead value from $40,000 to $100,000 to qualify for exemption from ad valorem taxation by a school district.
Andrew Smith, a political science assistant professor and pre-law adviser at UTRGV, said if passed, the proposition would allow the Texas Legislature to increase the amount of a homeowner’s property value that can be exempt from taxes.
“So, this is part of the Legislature’s goal of reducing what are some of the highest property tax burdens in the United States,” Smith said.
He said Proposition 5 would allow universities within the state outside of the University of Texas and Texas A&M systems to access the Texas University Fund.
The Texas University Fund provides monies to certain institutions of higher education to achieve national prominence as major research universities and drive the state economy, according to the proposed constitutional amendment.
Smith said UTRGV would not be affected by the proposition “because we have a Permanent University Fund that we, along with the other University of Texas schools, can access separately.”
“Proposition 5 would affect, for example, the University of Houston system, the Texas Tech system,” he said. “Those schools would have the ability to access more money to fund research, improve student campus experiences, that kind of thing.”
Proposition 6 focuses on the Texas water fund, which would assist in financing water projects in this state.
“Proposition 6 creates a special water fund that addresses water related issues statewide, such as acquiring new sources of water that’s particularly germane given the low water level … things like fixing drainage, replacing outdated drainage pipes, for example, would be funded via Proposition 6,” Smith said.
Proposition 7 would create the Texas energy fund to support the construction, maintenance, modernization and operation of electric generating facilities.
“After the Big Freeze in 2021, it was clear that there were reliability problems with the Texas energy grid,” Kaswan said. “And so, this is basically establishing a fund that would support energy providers [and] companies that want to build power-generating plants.”
Kaswan said he believes voters will support Proposition 8, which would create a broadband infrastructure fund to expand high-speed broadband access.
“It is intended to provide funding for expansion of broadband access, so high speed internet access, particularly in rural and low income communities,” he said.
Smith said Proposition 9 would allow the 88th Texas Legislature to move $3.3 billion from the General Revenue Fund to create cost-of-living raises for the pensions of retired Texas teachers.
“This is a way of trying to reward those who gave their careers to improving education in the state of Texas,” he said.
Several cities and school districts will also conduct elections for board of trustees and municipal posts and bond issues, including Edinburg, where two councilmember seats are up for election. Incumbent Johnny Garcia is being challenged by David Salazar for the Place 3 position. Gerardo “Gerry” Lozano is challenging incumbent David White for the Place 4 seat.
Early voting sites in Hidalgo County are open from:
–7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 23 through 28
–10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 29
–7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 30-Nov. 3.
To view the 29 Hidalgo County voting sites, visit its website.
Early voting sites in Cameron County are open from:
–9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 23-27
–10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 28-29
–9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 30-Nov. 1
–8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Nov. 2-3.
To view the Cameron County voting sites, visit its website.
To request a mail-in ballot, voters must be 65 years or older, have a disability, be confined in prison or jail with the right to vote, be out of the county during early voting or Election Day or expected to give birth within three weeks of Election Day.
The last day to submit an application for a ballot by mail is Oct. 27.
“Applications to vote by mail must be submitted in person or by mail, common or contract carrier, email or fax,” according to votetexas.gov.
Voters can send their application by mail to the early voting clerk by in-person delivery, regular mail, contract carrier, fax or email.
There are seven acceptable forms of photo ID to present at the polling location: a Texas driver’s license, Texas ID, Texas election ID certificate, Texas handgun license, U.S. citizenship certificate with photo, U.S. military ID card with photo and U.S. passport.
For more information on the amendments and voting on Texas, visit votetexas.gov
To know if you are registered to vote visit the Texas Secretary of State’s website.
