Types of Elections in Texas

The first Texas constitution was the Constitution of Coahuila y Tejas of 1827 whereby legislative power was given to the unicameral legislature made up of 12 deputies led by the governor and vice-governor. The second constitution was the Republic of Texas Constitution of 1836 which declared its independence (Dlc, n.d). The third constitution was the State Constitution of 1845 which was developed after Texas stopped being an independent republic and joined the U.S. making Texas the 28th state. The Confederate Constitution of 1861 was the fourth constitution of Texas and was formed after Texas seceded from the U.S. drafted by the delegates. The fifth constitution of Texas was the Post Civil War Constitution of 1866 which provided the legislature after the end of the Civil war for Texas to rejoin the Union and abolish slavery (Dlc, n.d). The Reconstruction Constitution of 1869 was the sixth Texas constitution and was created because it was a condition for the states to re-enter the Union and declaring the U.S constitution the supreme law. The seventh Texas constitution was the Texas Constitution of 1876 which was drafted when the Democrats gained control of the state from the radical Republicans.

One of the criticisms of the Texas Constitution of 1876 is the length of the document as it has 98,000 words and 467 Amendments since 2009 yet the United States Constitution has 6500 words and 27 amendments only. The weakness of the Constitution of 1876 is that the fragmented executive branch whereby the governor has no control over other junior state authorities, also the inequitable public education system, and the restrictive budgeting and finances to carter for the state (Pearson Higher Ed, 2012).

The constitutional reform efforts of 1971-1975 ended in failure mostly because of the states right to work law which prevented union membership as a condition for gaining employment, therefore, it faced great opposition from organized labor (Pearson Higher Ed, 2012). Another aspect that made the reforms fail was the 181 members of the legislature who were facing reelection, therefore, had their attention diverted and affected their ability to vote for the reform.

The amendment procedure for the current constitution in Texas involves the State legislature proposing an amendment by both the Senate and the House of Representatives whereby the proposed amendment gets two-thirds of the voted from the members. Then the legislature calls for voter election in consideration of the proposed amendment. The amendment gets into effect after statewide approval.

Basic Forms of Local Governments

County

One of the basic forms of local governments in Texas is the county and Texas has around 254 counties. The counties are also referred to as general purpose governments because they serve many functions such as providing government services as well as administrative services. The county officials are elected to avoid dominating the county government. Other officials in the county include the county attorney, county clerk, and county tax assessor (Tml, n.d). A county is run by a county judge with support from county commissioners. The duty of a county is to ensure the construction and maintenance of roads, resolving disputes, social services, and law enforcement.

Municipal

Generally, city government policies are outlined by the state and the constitution and this applies to Texas as well. In Texas, city government is divided into two categories whereby there are general law cities which have a population of more than 200 people and home rule cities which have more than 5,000 people. In Texas, general statutes govern cities with less than a population of 5000 people. In home rule cities, a charter is established to implement the powers of the municipal officials. The city charter sets the terms of office, regulates the officials’ salaries and outlines the procedure for amending the city (Tml, n.d). In a city, the mayor is the chief administrator and political head who has budgetary power for the city.

Special District

Special districts are also known as single-purpose governments and they perform a single function in a limited geographical area. The most common special districts in Texas are the school districts and they serve to provide public education to the society. Other special districts deal with aspects such as water supply or healthcare. A special district is governed by an elected board (Tml, n.d).

Commission

Commissions sometimes referred to as regional planning commissions or Councils of Government are political subdivisions of the state. COGs coordinate the local government activity in a particular region and aid in economic planning as well (Tml, n.d). The COG works under a governing body of elected officials in the local governments to aid in problem-solving and planning government programs.

Types of Elections

Primary Election

There are three main types of elections held in Texas and they include primary election, general election, and special election. Primary elections in Texas are held on even years on the second Tuesday in March (Champagne & Edward 2013). The primary elections are for determining the political party candidates for the general election. In order to win a primary election, there is the need for a member to obtain majority vote cast which translates to more than 50%. With regard to the primary election, the state pays for the costs of the election through public funding. The Elections Division administers Texas primary elections by maintaining the Texas Election Administration Management (TEAM). The Election Assistance Commission administers general elections and establishes electoral standards.

General Election

General elections in Texas are held in November on the first Tuesday following the First Monday of even numbers years. During the general elections in Texas, the main political candidates from the parties run against each other. However, major officials like the governor and attorney general not elected during the same year the presidential election are occurring (Champagne & Edward 2013). Winning a general election requires the candidate to have an absolute majority of electoral votes. The state pays for the expenses of all the general elections.

Special Election

Special elections are elections carried out to fill vacant official positions which may have had been as a result of officials getting fired or resignation. The dates of the special elections are determined by the Texas legislature. The winning of a special election is determined by majority votes from the total votes cast (Champagne & Edward 2013). Special elections in Texas are paid for by the state itself for all the election activities. The Texas Election Administration Management administers and maintains special elections in Texas.

Powers of the Governor

The Governor of Texas is the most popular and well know state official and he/she has both formal and informal powers in the state. Some of the formal powers of the governor are such as the constitutional and statutory duty of signing or vetoing billed by the legislature. The governor can veto against a bill they disagree with or strongly oppose, therefore, the governor has power over lawmaking process. The second power of the Texan governor is serving as the commander-in-chief of the state military forces whereby the governor has liberty and authority to deploy the state military to various regions for protection purposes (Office of the Texas Governor, 2018). Delivering a report of the situation of the state to the legislature at the beginning of every regular session is another formal function of the governor of Texas. The fourth formal power of the Governor is to prepare and give a biennial budget message which is then passed to the legislature. For example, the governor can determine what aspects of a budget will increase or decrease. The Texas governor has the power to grant reprieves and pardons with respect to the recommendation of Board of Pardons and Paroles. Moreover, the Texan governor has the power to revoke conditional pardons to inmates (Office of the Texas Governor, 2018). The sixth power of the governor of Texas is appointing Texans into state offices to carry out the policies of the state government as well as aid the governor in other specific issues.

Some of the informal powers of the governor of Texas are such as giving emergency messages to the public. For example, the Texas governor has the power to announce the onset of a natural disaster that may affect Texas. Another informal power of the Texan governor is the ability to run for reelection into the office.

Texas Court System

The Texas court system has three levels namely the trial courts, appellate courts, and the supreme courts. The trial courts or local courts are the most numerous in Texas comprising of 450 district courts, more than 500 county courts, and 900 municipal courts. The municipal and justice courts have limited jurisdiction and deal with criminal misdemeanors, small claims as well as civil actions of less than $10,000 (Burress, 2018). The county courts also have limited jurisdiction and deal with juvenile matters and appeals de novo from lower courts such as the municipal court. The county courts deal with cases of civil matters up to $ 200,000 and are limited to primarily to probate matters. The judges in the trial courts are selected by nonpartisan election (Jones, 2017).

Texas Courts of Appeal have regional jurisdiction and deal with the civil appeal as well as criminal appeals. Also, the Courts of Appeal deal with appeals from trial courts of respective district courts (Burress, 2018). The Supreme Court which is the highest appellate court has full and statewide jurisdiction and deals with final appellate jurisdiction from civil and other juvenile cases. The Supreme Court judges are selected is appointment via the judicial nominating commission (Jones, 2017).

References

Burress, C. (2018). Researching Texas Law: Cases. Retrieved from: https://law.tamu.libguides.com/texascaselaw

Champagne, A, & Edward J. (2013). Governing Texas. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.

Dlc. (n.d). The Texas Constitution. Retrieved from: https://dlc.dcccd.edu/txgov1-2/texas-constitutional-history

Jones, M. (2017). The Selection of Judges in Texas: Analysis of the Current System and of the Principal Reform Options. Retrieved from: https://www.bakerinstitute.org/media/files/files/b38e1ecc/POLI-pub-TexasJudges-011317.pdf

Office of the Texas Governor. (2018). Duties, Requirements, and Powers. Retrieved from: https://gov.texas.gov/governor-abbott/duties

Pearson Higher Ed. (2012). The Texas Constitution. Retrieved from: https://www.pearsonhighered.com/assets/samplechapter/0/2/0/5/0205927068.pdf

Tml. (n.d). Local Government in Texas. Retrieved from: https://www.tml.org/Handbook-M&C/Chapter1.pdf