Early Voting Underway in Texas Primary Election, More Transparency Available for Local Bond Measures

Texas voters entered the two-week early voting period Tuesday for the March 3 primary election as the Republican and Democratic parties of Texas utilize public voting equipment and staff to choose their nominees for specific offices for the Nov. 3 general election.

Should a candidate in a party's particular race not breach the 50 percent mark in a primary election, the top two vote recipients will face off in a May 26 primary runoff election.

Early voting will end on Friday, Feb. 27.

Those seeking to vote by mail have until Feb. 20 to apply for a ballot.

In all there are more than 200 federal and state offices up for election this year, as well as local county elected offices.

Most municipal and school board elections will take place in May although some cities utilize the November general election date.

Transparency Law Sheds Light on Local Bond/Tax Elections

While most elections this year involve a public office, municipalities and school boards often use the May uniform election date or November general election date to put bond and tax ballot measures up for a vote.

Feb. 13 was the deadline for local governments to secure a spot for a bond measure on the May 2 ballot.

HB 103 by St. Rep. Ellen Troxclair, R-Lakeway, a new law passed in the 2025 Legislature, is bringing more transparency to ballot measures up for a vote across the state, both historic and current.

The bill created the online Bond, Tax, and Project Database maintained by the Texas Comptroller's office.

It requires the Comptroller to develop and maintain a database containing current and historical information on taxes imposed and bonds issued so Texans can easily find information on local governments' property tax-backed bond debt and tax rate increases.

The online database contains a table with basic bond-related information; a detailed report for each submitted bond proposal on which there was a vote; and a downloadable spreadsheet containing bond-related information throughout Texas.

One can search the database in a variety of ways such the entity's name, county involved, year of election, etc.

"Now Texans can see exactly how much debt their local governments carry, what bonds voters approved, and how those dollars are being used," Acting Comptroller Kelley Hancock posted on X last month.

Hancock, who is running the crowded GOP primary for Comptroller, called the database a "BIG step for transparency and accountability!"

The database does not provide any information on a local government's ability to pay off its bonds, and the Comptroller's office does not independently verify information contained in the database.

Questions? Contact TAB's Michael Schneider or call (512) 322-9944.