Texas state elections

Overview of the elections procedures in the State of Texas

Elections in Texas

File:Seal of Texas.svg

Federal government

|  Presidential elections

* 1848
* 1852
* 1856
* 1860
* 1872
* 1876
* 1880
* 1884
* 1888
* 1892
* 1896
* 1900
* 1904
* 1908
* 1912
* 1916
* 1920
* 1924
* 1928
* 1932
* 1936
* 1940
* 1944
* 1948
* 1952
* 1956
* 1960
* 1964
* 1968
* 1972
* 1976
* 1980
* 1984
* 1988
* 1992
* 1996
* 2000
* 2004
* 2008
* 2012
* 2016
* 2020
* 2024

Presidential primaries

Democratic
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020

Republican
2004
2008
2020
U.S. Senate

* 1846
* 1847
* 1851
* 1853
* 1857
* 1859
* 1859 sp
* 1870
* 1871
* 1875
* 1876
* 1881
* 1882
* 1887
* 1888
* 1892 sp
* 1893
* 1894
* 1899
* 1901
* 1905
* 1907
* 1911
* 1913
* 1913 sp
* 1916
* 1918
* 1922
* 1924
* 1928
* 1930
* 1934
* 1936
* 1940
* 1941 sp
* 1942
* 1946
* 1948
* 1952
* 1954
* 1957 sp
* 1958
* 1960
* 1961 sp
* 1964
* 1966
* 1970
* 1972
* 1976
* 1978
* 1982
* 1984
* 1988
* 1990
* 1993 sp
* 1994
* 1996
* 2000
* 2002
* 2006
* 2008
* 2012
* 2014
* 2018
* 2020
* 2024
* 2026

U.S. House

* 1846
* 1849
* 1851
* 1853
* 1855
* 1857
* 1859
* 1866
* 1869
* 1870
* 1871
* 1872
* 1874
* 1876
* 1878
* 1879
* 6th sp
* 1880
* 1882
* 1884
* 1886
* 1887
* 2nd sp
* 1888
* 1890
* 1892
* 9th sp
* 1894
* 1896
* 11th sp
* 1898
* 1900
* 1901
* 6th sp
* 1902
* 4th sp
* 1903
* 8th sp
* 1904
* 1905
* 8th sp
* 1906
* 1908
* 1910
* 1912
* 1913
* 10th sp
* 1914
* 1916
* 1918
* 1919
* 12th sp
* 1920
* 1922
* 13th sp
* 1924
* 1926
* 1928
* 1930
* 17th sp
* 1931
* 14th sp
* 1932
* 1933
* 7th sp
* 8th sp
* 15th sp
* 1934
* 1936
* 1937
* 10th sp
* 1938
* 1940
* 1942
* 1944
* 1946
* 6th sp
* 1947
* 9th sp
* 16th sp
* 1948
* 15th sp
* 1950
* 18th sp
* 1951
* 13th sp
* 1952
* 7th sp
* 1954
* 1956
* 1958
* 1960
* 1961
* 20th sp
* 1962
* 4th sp
* 13th sp
* 1963
* 10th sp
* 1964
* 1966
* 8th sp
* 1968
* 3rd sp
* 1970
* 1972
* 1974
* 1976
* 1st sp
* 22nd sp
* 1978
* 1980
* 1982
* 1983
* 6th sp
* 1984
* 1985
* 1st sp
* 1986
* 1988
* 1989
* 12th sp
* 18th sp
* 1990
* 1991
* 3rd sp
* 1992
* 1994
* 1996
* 1997
* 28th sp
* 1998
* 2000
* 2002
* 2003
* 19th sp
* 2004
* 2006
* 22nd
* 2008
* 2010
* 2012
* 2014
* 2016
* 2018
* 27th sp
* 2020
* 2021
* 6th sp
* 2022
* 34th sp

State government

|  General elections

* 2006
* 2010
* 2014
* 2018
* 2020
* 2022

Gubernatorial elections

* 1845
* 1847
* 1849
* 1851
* 1853
* 1855
* 1857
* 1859
* 1861
* 1863
* 1866
* 1938
* 1940
* 1942
* 1944
* 1946
* 1948
* 1950
* 1952
* 1954
* 1956
* 1958
* 1960
* 1962
* 1964
* 1966
* 1968
* 1970
* 1972
* 1974
* 1978
* 1982
* 1986
* 1990
* 1994
* 1998
* 2002
* 2006
* 2010
* 2014
* 2018
* 2022

Lieutenant gubernatorial elections

* 2010
* 2014
* 2018
* 2022

Attorney General elections

* 2018
* 2022

Senate elections

* 2006
* 2008
* 2010
* 2012
* 2014
* 2016
* 2018
* 2020
* 2022

House of Representatives elections

* 2006
* 2008
* 2010
* 2012
* 2014
* 2016
* 2018
* 2020
* 2022

Constitutional amendments

* 2005
* 2007

Austin

|  Mayoral elections

* 2003
* 2006
* 2009
* 2012
* 2014
* 2018
* 2022

Corpus Christi

|  Mayoral elections

* 2012
* 2014
* 2016
* 2017 sp
* 2018
* 2020

Dallas–Fort Worth

|  Arlington mayoral elections

* 2001
* 2003
* 2005
* 2007
* 2009
* 2011
* 2013
* 2015
* 2017
* 2019
* 2021

Dallas mayoral elections

* 1856
* 1857
* 1875
* 1904
* 1925
* 1961
* 1963
* 1995
* 1999
* 2002 sp
* 2003
* 2007
* 2011
* 2015
* 2019
* 2023

Dallas municipal elections

* 2015
* 2019

Fort Worth mayoral elections

* 2003
* 2007
* 2009
* 2011
* 2015
* 2017
* 2019
* 2021

Denton mayoral elections

* 2020
* 2022

Plano municipal elections

* 2017
* 2019
* 2021

El Paso

|  Mayoral elections

* 2001
* 2003
* 2005
* 2009
* 2013
* 2017
* 2020

Municipal elections

* 2017
* 2020

Houston

|  Mayoral elections

* 1987
* 1989
* 1991
* 1993
* 1995
* 1997
* 1999
* 2001
* 2003
* 2005
* 2007
* 2009
* 2011
* 2013
* 2015
* 2019
* 2023

Municipal elections

* 2005
* 2007
* 2009

Laredo

|  Mayoral elections

* 2018

Lubbock

|  Mayoral elections

* 2006
* 2008
* 2010
* 2012
* 2014
* 2016
* 2018
* 2020

San Antonio

|  Mayoral elections

* 2005
* 2007
* 2009
* 2011
* 2013
* 2015
* 2017
* 2019
* 2021

Category Government

* v
* t
* e

Voting rights in Texas

File:Flag of Texas.svg

* * *

File:Map of USA TX.svg
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 acceptable forms of photo ID: Texas Driver License, Texas Election ID Certificate, Texas Personal ID Card, Texas Handgun License, US Military ID Card with the person’s photograph, US Citizenship Certificate with person's photograph, US Passport (book or card)
In-person early-voting status| 17 days prior, ending 4 days before
Out-of-precinct voting status| In select counties approved by Secretary of State of Texas
Postal ballot status| Limited to those with one of 6 acceptable excuses: 65 yrs of age or older, Sick or disabled, Expecting to give birth within 3 weeks of Election Day, Absent from the county of registration during the Early Voting period and on Election Day, Civilly committed under Chapter 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 Computer generated districts voted on by state legislature
Prison-based redistricting| Yes
Ballot question rights| No
Recall powers| Only local offices in Home Rule cities that have included recall in their charter
Federal representation level| State level

Texas state elections encompass the processes by which voters in the State of Texas select state and federal officeholders, approve constitutional amendments, and decide certain local and special contests under the authority of the Texas Constitution and Statutes, specifically the Texas Election Code, Article 6. Texas administers elections for statewide executive offices, the state legislature, judicial positions, congressional seats, and ballot propositions, using a combination of general elections, primary elections, runoffs, and special elections held on legally prescribed uniform dates. The modern Texas electoral system reflects a long evolution shaped by statehood, the Reconstruction era following the American Civil War, 20th century party realignment, statutory reform, and ongoing legal and administrative changes affecting voter access and election administration.[1]

From 1836 to 1845, Texas existed as the independent Republic of Texas and conducted presidential elections under its own constitutional framework. Following its annexation by the United States in 1845, Texas began participating in U.S. presidential elections, with the exceptions of 1864 and 1868, when the state did not participate due to its secession from the Union in 1861 and its status as an unreconstructed former Confederate state during the immediate post–Civil War period. Texas was formally readmitted to congressional representation in 1870, after which its participation in federal elections resumed on a continuous basis.[2]

Following statehood, Texas adopted electoral structures broadly consistent with other U.S. states, establishing elected offices for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, judges, and legislators under successive state constitutions. Records maintained by the Legislative Reference Library of Texas document gubernatorial elections beginning in 1846, reflecting the institutional continuity of the state’s executive branch. Over time, election administration became increasingly codified through statute, culminating in the modern Texas Election Code, which governs voter registration, ballot access, primary elections, runoffs, and vote tabulation statewide.[3]

Texas conducts its principal statewide elections, including races for governor and other statewide executive offices, during even-numbered years that do not include presidential elections. These elections are held on the national Election Day, defined by state law as the Tuesday following the first Monday in November, and therefore occur during United States midterm election cycles. Members of the Texas House of Representatives are elected to two-year terms at each general election, while members of the Texas Senate serve staggered four-year terms, with approximately half of the chamber elected every two years except following decennial redistricting, when all Senate seats are contested to reestablish the staggered term structure.[4]

For much of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Texas politics was dominated by the Democratic Party, placing the state within the political alignment commonly known as the Solid South following the end of Reconstruction in 1877. This pattern began to shift during the mid-to-late 20th century as national party coalitions realigned. By the 1990s, the Republican Party had become the dominant political force in Texas, winning most statewide offices and legislative majorities. As of the 2024 election cycle, Republicans held all statewide executive offices, majorities in both chambers of the Texas Legislature, both U.S. Senate seats, and all positions on the Texas Supreme Court, making Texas the most populous state under unified Republican control.[5]

Despite sustained Republican dominance at the statewide level, political analysts and election observers have increasingly described Texas as more electorally competitive since 2016, particularly in large metropolitan regions and high-turnout federal races. The 2020 presidential election produced the narrowest Republican margin in Texas since the 1990s, reinforcing assessments that demographic change, urban population growth, and shifting voting patterns have reduced historical margins without reversing partisan control. Subsequent elections through 2024 continued to show Republican victories in statewide contests, alongside elevated turnout and closer margins that have sustained debate over the state’s long-term political trajectory rather than indicating an immediate partisan realignment.[6][7][8]

Texas shares with Wyoming the distinction of being among the earliest states to elect a woman as governor, following the election of Miriam A. Ferguson in 1924. However, Texas has never elected a person of color to the governorship, a historical pattern that continues to be noted in analyses of the state’s political leadership and electoral outcomes.[9]

## Voting rights and voter powers[edit | edit source]

Voting rights in Texas are governed by a combination of federal constitutional amendments, federal statutes, and state law. The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibited denial of the right to vote on the basis of race, while subsequent federal legislation sought to enforce those protections. Despite these guarantees, Texas implemented mechanisms during the late 19th and early 20th centuries that restricted participation in primary elections, including party rules that excluded Black voters from Democratic primaries.[10]

The exclusion of voters from primary elections was challenged repeatedly in federal court and ultimately invalidated by the Supreme Court of the United States. In Smith v. Allwright (1944), the Court held that the Texas Democratic Party’s exclusion of Black voters from primary elections constituted state action and violated the Fifteenth Amendment, a ruling that significantly altered Texas election law and reinforced constitutional protections in primary elections nationwide.[11]

Women in Texas were initially granted limited voting rights in 1918, when the state legislature permitted women to vote in primary elections. Full suffrage was extended following Texas’s ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment, which prohibited states from denying the right to vote on the basis of sex and applied to all elections. These changes incorporated women fully into the Texas electorate and aligned state practice with federal constitutional requirements.[12]

Texas election law requires voters to register in advance of elections and establishes eligibility criteria, voting methods, and identification requirements through statute. Administration of voter registration and election procedures is assigned to county election officials under the oversight of the Texas Secretary of State, who serves as the state’s chief election officer, with counties responsible for carrying out election operations under statewide legal standards.[13]

## Redistricting process[edit | edit source]

Main article: Redistricting in Texas

Electoral districts for the Texas House of Representatives, Texas Senate, Texas Board of Education, and the United States House of Representatives are redrawn once every ten years following the decennial United States census. Under the Texas Constitution, redistricting is conducted through the regular legislative process and requires passage by both chambers of the Texas Legislature and approval by the governor, unless a veto is overridden by the legislature. This framework places primary responsibility for drawing district boundaries with elected state officials rather than an independent commission.[14]

If the legislature fails to enact state legislative district maps during the first regular legislative session following the census, responsibility shifts to the Legislative Redistricting Board, a constitutionally defined body composed of statewide officeholders. Maps adopted by the board are not subject to gubernatorial veto and carry the force of law once enacted. Congressional redistricting authority, however, remains with the legislature and does not transfer to the board under Texas law.[15]

Texas’s redistricting plans have been repeatedly reviewed by federal courts, particularly in the decades following passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, with courts at times invalidating congressional and legislative maps for failure to comply with federal constitutional or statutory requirements. Judicial intervention has occurred across multiple redistricting cycles and has occasionally resulted in court-ordered interim maps or mid-decade revisions to legislatively enacted plans.[16]

The most recent redistricting cycle followed the 2020 census, with new district maps enacted in 2021 for use beginning with the 2022 elections and extending through the 2030 cycle. As with prior redistricting efforts, the adopted maps generated political and legal disputes and were subject to ongoing litigation and administrative review, reflecting the continued centrality of redistricting to Texas electoral politics.[17]

Presidential election results in Texas (selected vote totals)  Year  | Winning party  | Republican vote  | Democratic vote  | Third-party vote

|
|
|
|

1848 | Democratic | 4,509 | 10,668 | 0
1852 | Democratic | 4,995 | 13,552 | 0
1856 | Democratic | 0 | 31,169 | 15,639
1860 | Southern Democratic | 0 | 0 | 62,986
1872 | Democratic | 47,468 | 66,546 | 2,580
1876 | Democratic | 44,800 | 104,755 | 0
1880 | Democratic | 57,893 | 156,428 | 27,405
1884 | Democratic | 93,141 | 225,309 | 6,855
1888 | Democratic | 88,422 | 234,883 | 34,208
1892 | Democratic | 81,144 | 239,148 | 101,853
1896 | Democratic | 167,520 | 370,434 | 6,832
1900 | Democratic | 130,641 | 267,432 | 25,633
1904 | Democratic | 51,242 | 167,200 | 15,566
1908 | Democratic | 65,666 | 217,302 | 10,789
1912 | Democratic | 28,530 | 219,489 | 53,769
1916 | Democratic | 64,999 | 286,514 | 20,948
1920 | Democratic | 114,538 | 288,767 | 83,336
1924 | Democratic | 130,023 | 484,605 | 42,881
1928 | Republican | 367,036 | 341,032 | 931
1932 | Democratic | 97,959 | 760,348 | 5,119
1936 | Democratic | 104,661 | 739,952 | 5,123
1940 | Democratic | 212,692 | 909,974 | 1,865
1944 | Democratic | 191,425 | 821,605 | 137,301
1948 | Democratic | 303,467 | 824,235 | 121,730
1952 | Republican | 1,102,878 | 969,228 | 3,840
1956 | Republican | 1,080,619 | 859,958 | 14,968
1960 | Democratic | 1,121,310 | 1,167,567 | 22,207
1964 | Democratic | 958,566 | 1,663,185 | 5,060
1968 | Democratic | 1,227,844 | 1,266,804 | 584,758
1972 | Republican | 2,298,896 | 1,154,291 | 19,527
1976 | Democratic | 1,953,300 | 2,082,319 | 36,265
1980 | Republican | 2,510,705 | 1,881,147 | 149,785
1984 | Republican | 3,433,428 | 1,949,276 | 14,867
1988 | Republican | 3,036,829 | 2,352,748 | 37,833
1992 | Republican | 2,496,071 | 2,281,815 | 1,376,132
1996 | Republican | 2,736,167 | 2,459,683 | 415,794
2000 | Republican | 3,799,639 | 2,433,746 | 174,252
2004 | Republican | 4,526,917 | 2,832,704 | 51,144
2008 | Republican | 4,479,328 | 3,528,633 | 79,830
2012 | Republican | 4,569,843 | 3,308,124 | 121,690
2016 | Republican | 4,685,047 | 3,877,868 | 430,940
2020 | Republican | 5,890,428 | 5,259,215 | 177,231
2024 | Republican | 6,393,597 | 4,835,250 | 182,952

[18]

## References[edit | edit source]

1. ^ "Texas Election Code". Texas Legislature. Retrieved February 6, 2026.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
2. ^ "Texas Secession and Readmission". Texas State Library and Archives Commission. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
3. ^ "Governors of Texas, 1846–present". Legislative Reference Library of Texas. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
4. ^ "Texas Election Code, Chapter 41: Uniform Election Dates". Texas Legislature. Retrieved February 6, 2026.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
5. ^ "How Texas Became a Republican Stronghold". The Texas Tribune. November 3, 2020. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
6. ^ "Texas remains red, but by smaller margin". Baylor Lariat. November 10, 2020. Retrieved February 6, 2026.`{{cite news}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
7. ^ "2020 election: Texas hasn't voted Democrat since 1976, but the state is in play, experts say". Fox 10 Phoenix. October 2020. Retrieved February 6, 2026.`{{cite news}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
8. ^ "Why Texas remains Republican – for now". BBC News. 2024. Retrieved February 6, 2026.`{{cite news}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
9. ^ "Governors of Texas". University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
10. ^ "Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution". United States Congress. Retrieved February 6, 2026.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
11. ^ "Smith v. Allwright, 321 U.S. 649 (1944)". Supreme Court of the United States. Retrieved February 6, 2026.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
12. ^ "Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution". United States Congress. Retrieved February 6, 2026.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
13. ^ "Texas Election Code, Chapter 31: Election Officers". Texas Legislature. Retrieved February 6, 2026.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
14. ^ "Texas Constitution, Article III". Texas Legislature. Retrieved February 6, 2026.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
15. ^ "Legislative Redistricting Board". Legislative Reference Library of Texas. Retrieved February 6, 2026.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
16. ^ "Redistricting and the Voting Rights Act". U.S. Department of Justice. Retrieved February 6, 2026.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
17. ^ "2021 Redistricting in Texas". Legislative Reference Library of Texas. Retrieved February 6, 2026.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
18. ^ "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections – Texas results". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved November 17, 2025.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

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