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Texas state executive official elections, 2016
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Presidential • U.S. House • State executive offices • State Senate • State House • State judges • Local judges • State ballot measures • School boards • Municipal • Recalls • Candidate ballot access |
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2017 →
← 2015
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None Down Ballot Railroad Commission |
December 14, 2015 |
March 1, 2016 |
May 24, 2016 |
August 22, 2016 |
November 8, 2016 |
TBD |
TBD |
One state executive office in Texas
was
up for election in 2016:
Context of the 2016 elections
Primary elections
A primary election is an election in which voters select the candidate they believe should represent a political party in a general election. Primaries usually take place several months before a general election. Texas utilizes an open primary system. Voters do not have to register with a party. At the primary, a voter may choose which party primary ballot to vote on. The voter must sign a pledge declaring that he or she will not vote in another party's primary or convention that year.[1][2] If no candidate receives a majority of the votes during a primary election, a runoff election is held between the top two vote-getters.
Texas' primary election took place on March 1, 2016, with a primary runoff election on May 24, 2016.
Party control in Texas
Texas state government has been controlled by a Republican trifecta since 2003. Republicans also control all partisan state executive offices in the state. The state has not elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1988, nor has its electoral votes gone to a Democratic presidential candidate since Jimmy Carter in 1976.[3]
2016 elections
Elections by office
Railroad Commission
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Voter registration
- Check your voter registration status here.
To register to vote in Texas, an applicant must be a United States citizen, a resident of the county in which he or she is registering, and at least 17 years and 10 months old.[4]
The deadline to register to vote is 30 days before the election. Prospective voters can request a postage-paid voter registration form online or complete the form online and return it to the county voter registrar. Applications are also available at a variety of locations including the county voter registrar’s office, the secretary of state’s office, libraries, and high schools. Voter registration certificates are mailed to newly registered voters.[5]
Automatic registration
Texas does not practice automatic voter registration.[6]
Online registration
- See also: Online voter registration
Texas does not permit online voter registration.[6]
Same-day registration
Texas does not allow same-day voter registration.[6]
Residency requirements
Prospective voters must reside in the county in which they are registering to vote.[7]
Verification of citizenship
Texas does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. An individual applying to register to vote must attest that they are a U.S. citizen under penalty of perjury.
State law requires election officials to conduct a check of registered voters' citizenship status. Section 18.068 of the Texas Election Code says the following:
| “ |
The secretary of state shall quarterly compare the information received under Section 16.001 of this code and Section 62.113, Government Code, to the statewide computerized voter registration list. If the secretary determines that a voter on the registration list is deceased or has been excused or disqualified from jury service because the voter is not a citizen, the secretary shall send notice of the determination to the voter registrar of the counties considered appropriate by the secretary.[8] |
” |
| —Section 18.068, Texas Election Code[9] | ||
In January 2019, the Texas secretary of state’s office announced that it would be providing local election officials with a list of registered voters who obtained driver’s licenses or IDs with documentation such as work visas or green cards. Counties would then be able to require voters on the list to provide proof of citizenship within 30 days.[10] The review was halted by a federal judge in February 2019, and Secretary of State David Whitley rescinded the advisory in April.[11][12] A news release from Whitley’s office stated that “... going forward, the Texas Secretary of State's office will send to county voter registrars only the matching records of individuals who registered to vote before identifying themselves as non-U.S. citizens to DPS when applying for a driver's license or personal identification card. This will ensure that naturalized U.S. citizens who lawfully registered to vote are not impacted by this voter registration list maintenance process.”[13]
All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment.[14] Seven states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Wyoming — have laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters.
Verifying your registration
The Texas Secretary of State’s office allows residents to check their voter registration status online by visiting this website.
Elections
| Candidate ballot access |
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| Find detailed information on ballot access requirements in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. |
2015
There were no state executive elections in Texas in 2015.
2014
Seven state executive offices were up for election including governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, comptroller, land commissioner, agriculture commissioner and one seat on the Texas Railroad Commission.
- Texas Attorney General election, 2014
- Texas gubernatorial election, 2014
- Texas state executive official elections, 2014
- Texas down ballot state executive elections, 2014
- Texas lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2014
2013
There were no elections in Texas in 2013.
2012
Two seats on the Texas Railroad Commission were up for election.
State profile
| Demographic data for Texas | ||
|---|---|---|
| Texas | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 27,429,639 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 261,232 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 74.9% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 11.9% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 4.2% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.5% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2.5% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 38.4% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 81.9% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 27.6% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $53,207 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 19.9% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Texas. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
- See also: Presidential voting trends in Texas
Texas voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
Pivot Counties (2016)
Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, one is located in Texas, accounting for 0.5 percent of the total pivot counties.[15]
Pivot Counties (2020)
In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Texas had one Retained Pivot County, 0.55 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.
More Texas coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in Texas
- United States congressional delegations from Texas
- Public policy in Texas
- Endorsers in Texas
- Texas fact checks
- More...
See also
| Texas | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
|---|---|---|
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Fair Vote, "Congressional and Presidential Primaries: Open, Closed, Semi-Closed, and 'Top Two,'" accessed January 2, 2014
- ↑ Texas Statutes, "Section 172.086," accessed January 3, 2014
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "Presidential Election Results," accessed June 13, 2016
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, “Request for Voter Registration Applications,” accessed February 27, 2023
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, “Voter Registration,” accessed February 27, 2023
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 NCSL, "State Profiles: Elections," accessed July 28, 2024
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "Request for Voter Registration Applications," accessed July 28, 2024
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Texas Constitution and Statutes, “Election Code,” accessed February 23, 2023
- ↑ The Texas Tribune, “Texas officials flag tens of thousands of voters for citizenship checks,” January 25, 2019
- ↑ The New York Times, “Federal Judge Halts ‘Ham-Handed’ Texas Voter Purge,” February 28, 2019
- ↑ The New York Times, “Texas Ends Review That Questioned Citizenship of Almost 100,000 Voters,” April 26, 2019
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, “Secretary Whitley Announces Settlement In Litigation On Voter Registration List Maintenance Activity,” April 26, 2019
- ↑ Under federal law, the national mail voter registration application (a version of which is in use in all states with voter registration systems) requires applicants to indicate that they are U.S. citizens in order to complete an application to vote in state or federal elections, but does not require voters to provide documentary proof of citizenship. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the application "may require only the minimum amount of information necessary to prevent duplicate voter registrations and permit State officials both to determine the eligibility of the applicant to vote and to administer the voting process."
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
