On Nov. 4, 2025, Texas held its biannual ratification election, with 17 amendments being proposed. Early voting opened Oct. 20 and remained open until Oct. 31.
As stated in Article 17 of the Texas Constitution, “The proposal for submission must be approved by a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each House, entered by yeas and nays on the journals.” After the proposals have been approved by two-thirds of the House and Senate, “[an] explanatory statement shall be prepared by the Secretary of State and shall be approved by the Attorney General. The Secretary of State shall send a full and complete copy of the proposed amendment or amendments to each county clerk who shall post the same in a public place in the courthouse at least 30 days prior to the election on said amendment.”
Once the amendments are posted, a ratification election will be held for citizens to cast their votes. These are the 17 proposed amendments that Texas voted on in 2025.
Proposition 1 addresses funds for the Texas Technical College System. Propositions 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13 and 17 address taxes. Proposition 3 addresses bail for convicted criminals. Proposition 4 addresses how the state’s sales tax revenue will fund the Texas Water Fund. Proposition 12 addresses disciplinary action for judicial misconduct. Proposition 14 addresses funding towards dementia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s research. Proposition 15 addresses parents’ decision-making rights on behalf of their children. Proposition 16 addresses citizenship for voting.
Despite various topics being discussed in the propositions, ratification elections have a low voter turnout.
West Texas A&M University Political Science and Criminal Justice Professor, Dr. John Rausch explains the average turnout of ratification elections in Texas. “10% of the people who are registered to vote will vote, and that’s not a big number to start with,” Rausch said. “For constitutional amendments, over half the people, probably about 90% of the people, don’t even know we had one.”
According to News Channel 10, various voting locations are open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. A list of Randall and Potter county locations can be found on the News Channel 10 website. For more information on registering to vote, questions about the ballot, or working as a poll official, visit the League of Women Voters, Texas AFT or Vote Texas.
