Rewrite the Rules: Constitutional Amendment Election 2025
Lawmakers are trying to rewrite our state constitution from our access to water, bail reform, and the taxes we pay. But here’s the truth: they don’t get the last word. We do. Know your ballot. Bring your tools. Vote on all 17 constitutional amendments.
This is our Texas. Let’s write its history – our way.
Key Election Dates 📆
Voter Registration Deadline: Oct. 6, 2025
Early Voting: Oct. 20-31, 2025
Vote-by-Mail Application Deadline: Oct. 24, 2025
Election Day: Nov. 4, 2025
What is a Constitutional Amendment Election?
Every two years, after lawmakers wrap up their business in Austin, Texans get the final say. This November’s Constitutional Amendment Election is our chance to weigh in on the 17 amendments passed by a two-thirds majority during the 89th Texas Legislative Session.
Sure, the Legislature drafted these proposals, but Texas’ future doesn’t belong to them. It belongs to us. Every ballot cast is a decision about the kind of state we’re building together.
Turnout in these elections tends to be low (~11% on average) and voters are usually older, white homeowners. That means if young people show up, we can flip the script. We can shift the balance so that priorities like climate, healthcare, and fairness in our communities are represented in the decisions that shape our day to day.
And it doesn’t stop there. Local initiatives may also be on your ballot, shaping what happens in your own backyard. Do your research. Show up. Reclaim the pen.
They think young Texans won’t turn out for constitutional amendments. Joke’s on them because we’re the generation rewriting the rules and reshaping Texas.
What’s on the ballot?
Prop 1: Texas State Technical College Funding (SJR 59)
- Explainer: This amendment would allow the Texas State Technical College to create permanent funding for programs and infrastructure to fix classrooms, upgrade equipment, and expand their programs across Texas
- ✅ Proponents: It would help students get better training and skills for jobs
- ❌ Opponents: It could reduce government oversight on how the money would be spent
Prop 2: Capital Gains Tax Ban (SJR 18)
- Explainer: This amendment would make it so that people and businesses won’t pay state taxes on profits from investments or real estate
- ✅Proponents: It would protect investments and keep income tax-free status
- ❌ Opponents: It would reduce money that the state could be using towards programs and social goods
Prop 3: Bail Reform (SJR 5)
- Explainer: This amendment would deny bail for people accused of felony charges
- ✅Proponents: It could reduce violent crimes from repeat offenders
- ❌ Opponents: It may increase jail overcrowding and impact a person’s presumption of innocence
Prop 4: Water Infrastructure Funding (HJR 7)
- Explainer: This amendment would dedicate sales tax revenue to go towards water projects such as fixing pipes and preparing for droughts
- ✅Proponents: It would protect the water supply for our communities
- ❌Opponents: It would mean the state decides how funds are utilized and allocated which may not be evenly distributed across the state
Prop 5: Animal Feed Tax Exemption (HJR 99)
- Explainer: This amendment would remove property taxes on animal feed kept in storage to be sold
- ✅Proponents: It would help the agriculture industry and possibly lower costs for farmers
- ❌Opponents: It would mean local tax revenue would go down and might shift some of the costs to the state
Prop 6: Securities Tax Ban (HJR 4)
- Explainer: This amendment would stop Texas from creating new taxes on security transactions, such as stock trading, meaning people and companies in finance, like brokers and dealers, won’t pay next state taxes on trading or investment
- ✅Proponents: It would protect investments and financial businesses
- ❌Opponents: It would mean the state loses potential revenue that it might need in the future
Prop 7: Veteran Spouses Tax Exemption (HJR 133)
- Explainer: This amendment would allow surviving spouses of veterans who have not remarried, to pay less in property taxes if their veteran spouse’s death was in connection to their service
- ✅Proponents: It would expand veteran benefits and potentially help families financially
- ❌Opponents: The state would have to cover the reduced property tax revenue for local school districts
Prop 8: Inheritance Tax Ban (HJR 2)
- Explainer: This amendment would prevent lawmakers from imposing a tax when an estate or inheritance is transferred
- ✅Proponents: It would protect properties from acquiring new taxes
- ❌Opponents: It would limit future revenue options for the state
Prop 9: Business Inventory and Equipment Tax Exemption (HJR 1)
- Explainer: This amendment would give businesses a much bigger tax break by exempting up to $125,000 of business inventory or equipment from taxes
- ✅Proponents: It would reduce businesses costs and relieve administrative burdens, and contribute to economic growth
- ❌Opponents: It would cost local governments revenue, and some counties and cities would have to raise tax rates to make up for it
Prop 10: Homes Destroyed by Fire Tax Exemption (SJR 84)
- Explainer: This amendment would allow for temporary tax relief for homes destroyed by fire
- ✅Proponents: It would help disaster-affected families and individuals
- ❌Opponents: These tax bill reductions could impact local revenue and require the state to make up for losses to school districts
Prop 11: School Tax Exemption for Elderly / Disabled (SJR 85)
- Explainer: This amendment would increase the school property tax discount for the elderly and disabled which means they would pay less in property taxes
- ✅Proponents: It would reduce housing costs for vulnerable Texans
- ❌Opponents: It would mean that the state has to make up the lost revenue school districts would lose, which could be up to 1.2 billion in general revenue over the next two fiscal years and upwards of $477 million annually after that
Prop 12: Judicial Conduct Commission Changes (SJR 27)
- Explainer: This amendment would change the makeup and judicial powers of the state commission on judicial conduct by increasing citizen representation, slightly adjust how judges are selected for review tribunals, and give the commission and tribunals more authority to discipline or even bar judges from office
- ✅Proponents: It would make the process more accountable and transparent
- ❌Opponents: It could politicize judicial discipline by giving more influence to increasing the number of non-judges on the commission
Prop 13: Increased School Homestead Exemption (SJR 2)
- Explainer: This amendment would raise the homestead exemption which would mean homeowners in Texas get a bigger discount on their school taxes because the state wouldn’t tax the first $140,000 of their home’s value instead of $100,000.
- ✅Proponents: It would lower school property taxes for homeowners and save them hundreds of dollars per year
- ❌Opponents: It would mean the state would have to make up for the lost revenue and doesn’t stop local taxes from going up
Prop 14: Dementia Research & Prevention Funding (SJR 3)
- Explainer: This amendment create a 3 billion dollar fund that would go to the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas to research into the prevention and treatment of dementia, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other brain conditions. It would then count on 300 million annually after that.
- ✅Proponents: It would support health research and attract experts and practitioners on the subject matter to the state
- ❌Opponents: It would require a large upfront cost of 3 billion from the state surplus revenue to be transferred to the fund
Prop 15: Codifying Parental Rights (SJR 34)
- Explainer: This amendment would affirm parents as the primary decision-makers for their children, giving them full legal authority over their education, healthcare, and upbringing
- ✅Proponents: It would protect parental rights and authority
- ❌Opponents: It doesn’t protect children’s voices and would limit a child’s say in decisions about their own identity and medical care
Prop 16: Clarifying Citizenship Requirements for Voters (SJR 37)
- Explainer: This amendment would reiterate that only U.S. citizens can vote
- ✅Proponents: It would align state law with federal law
- ❌Opponents: It is redundant and pointless, and likely comes as a response to other states passing laws allowing residents who are not citizens to be able to participate in local elections
Prop 17: Property Tax Exemption for Border Security Infrastructure (HJR 34)
- Explainer: This amendment would make sure that adding border security infrastructure on private land in border counties doesn’t raise the property’s taxable value. That means landowners won’t pay extra taxes because of fences, walls, or other security improvements.
- ✅Proponents: It would prevent tax hikes from impacting property owners
- ❌Opponents: It could encourage more border infrastructure to be built on private land while likely shifting those costs to other local taxpayers
To find your specific sample ballot and polling location head to vote411.org!
Acceptable forms of ID to Cast Your Ballot 🪪
- Texas Driver’s License
- Texas Personal ID
- U.S. Passport
- U.S. Military ID
- Texas Election ID Certificate
No ID? No problem.
If you don’t have one of the required photo IDs, you can still vote by signing a Reasonable Impediment Declaration and showing alternate documentation to confirm your identity. Don’t let anything stop you from casting your ballot.
Provisional & Limited Ballot Voting
If something feels off with your registration or voter ID, don’t walk away. You still have the right to vote. Here’s how:
Provisional Ballots:
A provisional ballot is your backup plan when there’s a question about your eligibility. Your vote will count once election officials verify your information. You may be asked to vote provisionally if:
- You don’t have the required ID
- Your registration status is unclear
- You’re at the wrong polling place
Limited Ballots:
If your voter status is restricted, you may still qualify for a limited ballot allowing you to vote in the races or issues you’re eligible for. Ask questions. Demand clarity. Cast your vote. Election officials are required to explain why and help you through the process.
If you have any problems at the polls, call:
| English: | 866-OUR-VOTE |
| Spanish: | 866-VE-Y-VOTA |
| Asian Languages: | 888-API-VOTE |
| ASL/Video Call: | 301-818-VOTE |
| Disability Rights Texas: | 888-796-VOTE |
Bottom line: No matter what, there’s always a way to make your voice heard. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
Register to Vote. Resist. Rebuild. 🗳️
*The deadline to register to vote for the Constitutional Amendment Election has passed, but you can still get registered for the next election!*
Voter registration isn’t just paperwork, it’s a rite of passage and the first step for many young people toward lifelong civic power. Every form filled out is an entry point into community action, collective strength, and a democracy that counts us in.
This year, extremist politicians spent the legislative session and two special sessions attacking our freedoms, forcing through a sham process that approved racially gerrymandered maps to silence Texans of color. They want to write us out, but every voter registration form is a refusal to disappear.
Voter Registration Eligibility & Requirements ☑️
- You are a United States citizen;
- You are a resident of the county where you submit the application;
- You are at least 17 years and 10 months old on the date your voter registration application is submitted, and you are 18 years of age on Election Day.
- You are not a convicted felon (you may be eligible to vote if you have completed your sentence, probation, and parole); and
- You have not been declared by a court exercising probate jurisdiction to be either totally mentally incapacitated or partially mentally incapacitated without the right to vote.
Check here if you’re registered at your current address!
Need to Get Registered to Vote?
Register by Mail 📬
- Fill out this application, download, print, sign and mail the completed application directly to your county election office.
In-Person Options ✍🏼
- Visit your local Voter Registrar’s office.
- Find a MOVE Texas event near you with Volunteer Deputy Voter Registrars to help you complete the process!
Online 🧑🏽💻
- When you update your license at the Texas Department of Public Safety website, you will receive the option to register to vote online. (The only online VR option in Texas.) A great 2-for-1 deal!
- Note: You must already have an existing Texas ID to do so.
Become a Volunteer Deputy Voter Registrar 🫡
Already registered to vote at your current address? Take your commitment to democracy one step further and join a growing force of VDVRs ready to help take back our state one new voter at a time.
Whether it’s registering to vote for the first time, checking your registration status, casting your ballot or signing up to be a volunteer deputy voter registrar, civic engagement has become an act of defiance in Texas. Join us in the fight for democracy at home!
