Texas Proposition 8, State Executive Office Term Length Amendment (1972)

Texas Proposition 8
Election date November 7, 1972
Topic State executive official measures and Term limits
Status Approved
Type Legislatively referred constitutional amendment	Origin State legislature

Texas Proposition 8 was on the ballot as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment in Texas on November 7, 1972. It was approved.

A "yes" vote supported the amendment to extend the length of term to four years for the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, comptroller of public accounts, treasurer, commissioner of general land office, secretary of state, and certain statutory state officers.

A "no" vote opposed the amendment to extend the length of term to four years for the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, comptroller of public accounts, treasurer, commissioner of general land office, secretary of state, and certain statutory state officers.

Election results

Texas Proposition 8
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		1,466,291	55.68%
No		1,167,034	44.32%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title for Proposition 8 was as follows:

“

Proposing amendments to the Constitution of the State of Texas so as to provide a four-year term for the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Comptroller of Public Accounts, Treasurer, Commissioner of General Land Office, Secretary of State, and certain statutory state officers.

”

Full Text

The full text of this measure is available here.

Support

Supporters

Officials

• Lt. Gov. Ben Barnes

Candidates

• Andy Fenton - Republican State House Candidate
• Jim Nelson - Republican State Senate Candidate

Arguments

• Jim Nelson, State Senate Candidate: "I believe a two-year term is not sufficient, particularly for governor, to get programs underway and keep them going."
• Andy Fenton, State House Candidate: "I favor a four (4) year term for governor and the lieutenant governor. I believe a four year term would attract better qualified people to seek the office."
• Ben Barnes, Lieutenant Governor: "It's a disservice to the people when the officials they elect and place their confidence in simply do not have time to get their programs rolling because they have to stop and campaign every two years."

Opposition

Opponents

Candidates

• John Hoestenbach - Democratic State House Candidate

Arguments

• John Hoestenbach, State House Candidate: "I believe that public officials should be responsive to the wishes of the voter and to maintain this situation our present system is effective and should be kept."

Media editorials

See also: 2023 ballot measure media endorsements

Ballotpedia identified the following media editorial boards as taking positions on the proposition.

Ballotpedia lists the positions of media editorial boards that support or oppose ballot measures. This does not include opinion pieces from individuals or groups that do not represent the official position of a newspaper or media outlet. Ballotpedia includes editorials from newspapers and outlets based on circulation and readership, political coverage within a state, and length of publication. You can share media editorial board endorsements with us at editor@ballotpedia.org.

Support

You can share campaign information or arguments, along with source links for this information, at editor@ballotpedia.org

Opposition

• The Kilgore News Herald Editorial Board: "the Texas amendment has no limit on number of terms to be served. Most other states limit to or not more than two consecutive 4-year terms. We feel this failure to limit justifies a negative vote."

Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the Texas Constitution

A two-thirds vote was needed in each chamber of the Texas State Legislature to refer the constitutional amendment to the ballot for voter consideration.

The constitutional amendment was introduced into the Texas State Legislature as Senate Joint Resolution 1 during the 62nd regular legislative session in 1971.

See also

1972 Measures

• 1972 Measures
• Term limits on the ballot
• State executive official measures on the ballot
• 1972 legislative sessions

Texas

• Texas ballot measures
• Texas ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• Legislative Reference Library of Texas, Constitutional Amendments