Not much to say, you can see the live results. There were 12,479 total mail ballots, so another 1,436 were received after Tuesday. A bit more than 11K votes had been counted as of 10 PM and two thirds of the voting centers done, so I’d have won that bet with Bob Stein. My best guess for final turnout at this early point is between 45-50K, definitely less than two percent overall. The Republicans got what they wanted, a couple of people elected countywide here in the weirdest way possible. These positions will be up again in November 2026 and 2028, and I still don’t know because I’ve never seen it reported anywhere if they will go through the primary process and be on the general election ballot as R-versus-D races or not. But here we are and now we see what comes of this little experiment. In the meantime, on to November.
UPDATE: Here’s a story from Bexar County about their elections and what they can expect going forward. Still no reporting on whether these positions will go through the primary process or not.
A May 3 Texas Tribune article states that the appraisal district elected board positions are non-partisan. This paragraph is mid-way in the article: “Though the seats are nonpartisan, candidates have campaigned with partisan identifiers, drawn endorsements from prominent officials and deployed campaign rhetoric that hues along traditional partisan lines.”
https://www.texastribune.org/2024/05/03/texas-property-appraisal-district-board-elections/
I see that, but is the story written that way because this was a special election and therefore nonpartisan? It doesn’t address the question of the next elections, to be held in November. Non-partisan elections held in November of even years, outside of municipal elections like what Austin has now, would still be very weird in most places, like Harris County. That should be addressed directly in one of these stories.
The bill text (https://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlodocs/882/billtext/html/SB00002F.htm) is unclear to me. What I really want is someone to ask either Paul Bettencourt or the SOS about this. I don’t know what no one has thought to do that yet.
It’s all very opaque and yes the reporting has been below par. Was this technically a special election? The May election date has been on the Texas election calendar for decades and is used by numerous entities every year. Any election law specialists out there to help us out? Hopefully between now and the next time this appears on the ballot, clarity will emerge. FWIW I voted against the constitutional amendment which created this, knowing that it was a futile gesture. Thanks for your coverage which has filled in most of the blanks!