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From 1836 to 1845, Texas existed as an independent Republic of Texas and elected its own presidents before agreeing to annexation by the United States in 1845. Ever since, the state of Texas began participating in every presidential election with the exceptions of 1864 and 1868. The reason Texas choose not to participate in these two elections was due to its secession from the Union to join the Confederate States of America on February 1, 1861, and later remained as an unreconstructed state following in the American Civil War.
Following annexation, Texas began an election system that was quite similar to other U.S. states, with early constitutions establishing offices for governor, judges, and legislators. Records from the Legislative reference library also documented every governor from 1846 and on. The state's election laws codified in the Texas Election Code in some ways included primary election rules and vote thresholds.
Texas holds its statewide elections including the gubernatorial race as well as other state offices. Every four years these elections are held on the nationwideElection Day, the Tuesday following the first Monday in November. They occur in even numbered years that are not divisible by four, meaning they take place during amidterm and don't coincide with the presidential elections. The Texas House of Representatives hold their election every two years, while the Texas Senate seats are more staggered. About half the chamber is elected in each two-year cycle with the exception of years where there has been redistricting and all the seats are contested.
For about a century,Texas politics was dominated by the Democratic party, making the state a part of theSolid South which was the "electoralvoting bloc for theDemocratic Party in theSouthern United States between the end of theReconstruction era in 1877". In a reversal of alignments, since the late 1960s, theRepublican Party has grown more prominent. By the 1990s, it became the state's dominant political party and remains so to this day, as Democrats have not won a statewide race since the 1994 Lieutenant gubernatorial election. Texas is a majority Republican state with Republicans controlling every statewide office. Texas Republicans have majorities in the State House and Senate, an entirely Republican Texas Supreme Court, control of both Senate seats in the US Congress. Texas is America's most-populous Republican state. There have been arguments that Texas has trended more competitive since 2016 by citing demographic change, urban population growth, and narrowing statewide margins. However, the 2020 presidential election saw Texas become the third closest state won by republicans, illustrating both the party's strength and the state's gradual movement towards competitiveness.
Texas, simultaneous toWyoming, was the first state to elect a woman governor in 1924 with the election ofMiriam A. Ferguson.[1] (Huddleston, 2003) Conversely, Texas has never elected a person of color to be governor.[2]
In a 2020 study led bypolitical science researcher Scot Schraufnagel, Texas was ranked as the hardest state for citizens to vote in due to strict pre-registration laws and in-personvoter registration deadlines.[3] Additionally, by the 2020 election, Texas had cut down the amount ofpolling stations in the state, making voting less widely available.[3]
| Year | Republican / Whig | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1848 | 4,509 | 29.71% | 10,668 | 70.29% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1852 | 4,995 | 26.93% | 13,552 | 73.07% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1856 | 0 | 0.00% | 31,169 | 66.59% | 15,639 | 33.41% |
| 1860 | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 62,986 | 100.00% |
| 1872 | 47,468 | 40.71% | 66,546 | 57.07% | 2,580 | 2.21% |
| 1876 | 44,800 | 29.96% | 104,755 | 70.04% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1880 | 57,893 | 23.95% | 156,428 | 64.71% | 27,405 | 11.34% |
| 1884 | 93,141 | 28.63% | 225,309 | 69.26% | 6,855 | 2.11% |
| 1888 | 88,422 | 24.73% | 234,883 | 65.70% | 34,208 | 9.57% |
| 1892 | 81,144 | 19.22% | 239,148 | 56.65% | 101,853 | 24.13% |
| 1896 | 167,520 | 30.75% | 370,434 | 68.00% | 6,832 | 1.25% |
| 1900 | 130,641 | 30.83% | 267,432 | 63.12% | 25,633 | 6.05% |
| 1904 | 51,242 | 21.90% | 167,200 | 71.45% | 15,566 | 6.65% |
| 1908 | 65,666 | 22.35% | 217,302 | 73.97% | 10,789 | 3.67% |
| 1912 | 28,530 | 9.45% | 219,489 | 72.73% | 53,769 | 17.82% |
| 1916 | 64,999 | 17.45% | 286,514 | 76.92% | 20,948 | 5.62% |
| 1920 | 114,538 | 23.54% | 288,767 | 59.34% | 83,336 | 17.12% |
| 1924 | 130,023 | 19.78% | 484,605 | 73.70% | 42,881 | 6.52% |
| 1928 | 367,036 | 51.77% | 341,032 | 48.10% | 931 | 0.13% |
| 1932 | 97,959 | 11.35% | 760,348 | 88.06% | 5,119 | 0.59% |
| 1936 | 104,661 | 12.32% | 739,952 | 87.08% | 5,123 | 0.60% |
| 1940 | 212,692 | 18.91% | 909,974 | 80.92% | 1,865 | 0.17% |
| 1944 | 191,425 | 16.64% | 821,605 | 71.42% | 137,301 | 11.94% |
| 1948 | 303,467 | 24.29% | 824,235 | 65.97% | 121,730 | 9.74% |
| 1952 | 1,102,878 | 53.13% | 969,228 | 46.69% | 3,840 | 0.18% |
| 1956 | 1,080,619 | 55.26% | 859,958 | 43.98% | 14,968 | 0.77% |
| 1960 | 1,121,310 | 48.52% | 1,167,567 | 50.52% | 22,207 | 0.96% |
| 1964 | 958,566 | 36.49% | 1,663,185 | 63.32% | 5,060 | 0.19% |
| 1968 | 1,227,844 | 39.87% | 1,266,804 | 41.14% | 584,758 | 18.99% |
| 1972 | 2,298,896 | 66.20% | 1,154,291 | 33.24% | 19,527 | 0.56% |
| 1976 | 1,953,300 | 47.97% | 2,082,319 | 51.14% | 36,265 | 0.89% |
| 1980 | 2,510,705 | 55.28% | 1,881,147 | 41.42% | 149,785 | 3.30% |
| 1984 | 3,433,428 | 63.61% | 1,949,276 | 36.11% | 14,867 | 0.28% |
| 1988 | 3,036,829 | 55.95% | 2,352,748 | 43.35% | 37,833 | 0.70% |
| 1992 | 2,496,071 | 40.56% | 2,281,815 | 37.08% | 1,376,132 | 22.36% |
| 1996 | 2,736,167 | 48.76% | 2,459,683 | 43.83% | 415,794 | 7.41% |
| 2000 | 3,799,639 | 59.30% | 2,433,746 | 37.98% | 174,252 | 2.72% |
| 2004 | 4,526,917 | 61.09% | 2,832,704 | 38.22% | 51,144 | 0.69% |
| 2008 | 4,479,328 | 55.38% | 3,528,633 | 43.63% | 79,830 | 0.99% |
| 2012 | 4,569,843 | 57.13% | 3,308,124 | 41.35% | 121,690 | 1.52% |
| 2016 | 4,685,047 | 52.09% | 3,877,868 | 43.12% | 430,940 | 4.79% |
| 2020 | 5,890,428 | 52.00% | 5,259,215 | 46.43% | 177,231 | 1.56% |
| 2024 | 6,393,597 | 56.03% | 4,835,250 | 42.37% | 182,952 | 1.60% |
To reduce the amount of time required to fill electoral vacancies, Texas conductsspecial elections, which is to fill an office that has become vacant betweengeneral elections. Texas dispenses withparty primaries and instead uses ajungle primary system. Candidates of all parties (or no party) appear on the same ballot; if no single one of them receives 50 percent plus 1 vote, the two highest vote-getters also advance to a runoff irrespective of party affiliation.[5]
Texas sets three uniform election dates each year: the first Saturday in May, the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November,[6] and for partisan primary elections the first Tuesday in March in even-numbered years.[7] By the 2020 election cycle, Texas had reduced the number of polling locations across the state, this development was noted by researchers as it made access to in person voting less consistent.
As of 2024, 99.5 percent of registered voters in Texas are in jurisdictions that use voting methods capable of producing anauditable paper ballot, reflecting an established best practice for recounts and audits.[8] Only 0.5 percent of Texas voters continue to usedirect recording electronic machines (DREs) without a paper record of each vote, as the states transition to paper based voting technologies. Paper ballots marked by hand are shown to "create a tangible, tamper-evident and auditable record of voter selections".[9] These practices operate within the Texas Election Code, which governors election dates, recounts, and rules.
Voting rights in Texas | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Demographics | |
| Poll taxes | Abolished 1964 |
| Literacy tests abolished | N/A |
| Minimum voting age | 18 |
| Preregistration age | 17 and 10 months |
| Felon voting status | No, unless sentence fully discharged or pardoned |
| Voter registration | |
| Voter registration required | Yes |
| Online voter registration | No |
| Automatic voter registration | No |
| Same-day registration | No |
| Partisan affiliation | No |
| Voting process | |
| Polling place identification requirements | Yes, 7 accepted forms of photo ID: Texas Driver License Texas Election Identification Certificate Texas Personal Identification Card Texas Handgun License United States Military Identification Card containing the person’s photograph United States Citizenship Certificate containing the person’s photograph United States Passport (book or card) |
| In-person early-voting status | 17 days prior up to 4 days before |
| Out-of-precinct voting status | In select counties approved bySecretary of State of Texas |
| Postal ballot status | Limited to those with one of 6 acceptable excuses: 65 years of age or older Sick or disabled Expecting to give birth within three weeks of Election Day Absent from the county of registration during the Early Voting period and on Election Day Civilly committed underChapter 841 of the Texas Health and Safety Code Confined in jail, but otherwise eligible. |
| Permanent list postal ballot status | Apply yearly if disabled or 65+ |
| Ballot collection status | Household member, relative, or lawful assistant |
| Straight-ticket device status | no |
| Election method | First past the post |
| Voter powers | |
| Redistricting system | Computer generated districts voted on by state legislature |
| Prison-based redistricting | Yes |
| Ballot question rights | No |
| Recall powers | Only local offices inHome Rule cities that have included recall in their charter |
| Federal representation level | State level |
Texas uses anopen primary system for all partisan offices, allowing voters to participate in either party's primary regarding affiliation. Counties are able to choose between separate or joint primaries.[10] In this system, voters may vote in either party's primary, without being affiliated with said party. In counties with joint primaries, both parties hold their primaries at the same time and location, and voters must inform election officials which party primary they would rather participate in.
If a runoff election is needed, voters may only participate in the runoff of the party they affiliated with in the primary (but if they did not vote in the primary, they may still vote in the runoff election and, if both parties are holding runoffs, may choose either one). Party affiliation for voting purposes expires at the end of the voting year in which affiliation was established.[11]
Women in Texas were denied the right to vote until 1918, when the Texas Legislature passed a law that allowed women to vote inprimary elections only. Shortly after, Texas ratified the 19th Amendment which stopped states from denying theright to vote to citizens of the United States on the basis of sex. This ultimately extended fullsuffrage to women in all elections.
In 1870, the 15th Amendment was passed and people of color were permitted to vote in the U.S. However, African Americans continued to be oppressed when Texas allowed theDemocratic Party to prevent them from voting in primary elections with The White Primary Law.[12] After that law was overruled by theU.S. Supreme Court, Texas Democrats enacted a rule that would not allow Black people to join the Democratic Party.[12] Once again, the Supreme Court overruled this decision, and soon after, theVoting Rights Act of 1965 ultimately secured voting right protections for African Americans in Texas.[12]
In addition, Texas began providing voting materials in Spanish in 1975 to accommodate voters who were not fluent in English. Congress found that citizens who did not speak English, prevented them "from voting by their language and should follow the Voting Rights Act".[12]
Both parties are waging legal battles around the country over who gets to vote and how
State legislation related to the administration of elections introduced in 2011 through this year, 2020
