AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- Texas voters approved nearly all of the 14 constitutional amendments before them in Tuesday's election, while voters across Central Texas gave a thumbs up to a number of bond proposals and tax rate ratifications from local municipalities.
Returns from the Texas Secretary of State's office showed all but one of the 14 amendments passing Tuesday evening. Proposition 13, which would increase the mandatory retirement age for Texas judges and justices from 75 to 79, was the sole amendment rejected by voters, with nearly 62% of voters casting ballots against the amendment.
Proposition 4, which would raise the maximum homestead exemption on school district property taxes to $100,000, was passing with nearly 84% of voters in favor. The amendment is the final piece of the $18 billion package of property tax cuts passed by the Legislature earlier this year.
Voter turnout was brisk Tuesday, according to details from the Travis County Clerk's office. More than 68,000 ballots had been cast as of 6:30 p.m. Tuesday evening, compared to 66,985 ballots cast during two weeks of early voting - representing roughly 16% of registered voters when all the ballots are counted.
In Central Texas, voters in both Travis County and Williamson County were being asked to approve hundreds of millions of dollars in bond proposals for county parks and road projects.
Travis County's Proposition A would provide $233 million in bonds for mobility projects throughout the county, while Proposition B would provide $276 million in bonds for parks throughout the county. Both measures passed with more than 75% of the vote Tuesday night.
In Williamson County, Proposition A would provide $825 million in bonds for road projects throughout the county, while Proposition B would provide $59 million in parks projects. Both measures passed with over 60% of the vote.
Voters in Lake Travis ISD were being asked to decide on a $143 million bond proposal to build new athletics facilities in the district, including a football stadium at the district's to-be-built second high school. More than 60% of voters gave their approval to the proposal.
Beyond Central Texas, one of the most prominent races across the state is the race to become Houston's next mayor. State Sen. John Whitmire and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee were leading a field of 17 candidates with 44% and 36% of the ballots cast Tuesday; the pair will advance to a runoff in early December.
