It's an off-election year, but voters in North Texas still had several items to consider, including seven proposed amendments to the state constitution and bond packages.
Here's a roundup of results from Tuesday’s elections. This post will be updated throughout the evening.
Results updated as of 7:00 a.m. Wednesday.
Texas constitutional amendments
Voters across the state weighed in on seven proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution. With most precincts reporting, Texans are in favor of all of them, with some getting over 80 percent of the vote.
Here are the amendments and what they would do.
- Prop 1: This would lower property taxes for disabled veterans and their families.
- Prop 2: This would make it easier for homeowners to access the equity built up in their property.
- Prop 3: This would limit the service time of certain officeholders whose terms have ended but who have not been replaced. They would only serve until the next legislative session has ended.
- Prop 4: This would require courts to notify the state of any constitutional challenges to state laws.
- Prop 5: This would expand the definition of a "professional sports team," allowing more team-connected foundations to hold charitable raffles.
- Prop 6: This would provide a property tax exemptions to surviving first responders killed in the line of duty.
- Prop 7: This would allow credit unions and other financial institutions to hold promotions, like raffles, to encourage savings.
Learn more about the amendments from KUT's Ben Philpott.
Dallas County Schools election
Voters showed support for shutting down Dallas County Schools, a regional bus provider for nine North Texas school districts, including Dallas ISD. With all precincts reporting, 58 percent of voters were in favor of eliminating the bus service.
The agency has faced criticism amid reports of financial troubles, bus driver shortages and mismanagement by leadership. State Sen. Don Huffines, R-Dallas, has been one of the most vocal critics of Dallas County Schools, calling it a “rogue bureaucracy.”
State lawmakers this spring passed a bill requiring an election on the fate of the agency.
Learn more about Dallas County Schools from KERA's Stella M. Chávez.
So far, in the Dallas County Schools vote, the camp that wants to dismantle the bus agency is ahead. #txed @keranews pic.twitter.com/j86AEdvQEH
— Stella M. Chávez (@stellamchavez) November 8, 2017
Dallas bond referendum
Dallas voters showed strong support for all of the propositions of the city's $1 billion bond package. Ten different initiatives were on the ballot, including funding for streets, parks and libraries.
Streets are a big part of the bond package, amounting to about half of the total cost.
Several of the propositions received more than 70 percent of the vote.
Tristan Hallman of The Dallas Morning News told KERA that this bond package is "sort of a reckoning" with a lot of city projects that have been a long time coming.
Here are the propositions and how much they cost.
- Prop A: $533.9 million for streets
- Prop B: $261.8 million for parks
- Prop C: $50 million for Fair Park
- Prop D: $48.75 million for flood protection
- Prop E: $15.6 million for libraries
- Prop F: $14.3 million for cultural and performing arts facilities
- Prop G: $32 million for public safety facilities
- Prop H: $18.1 million for city facilities
- Prop I: $55.4 million for economic development
- Prop J: $20 million for homeless assistance facilities
Learn more about the propositions from The Dallas Morning News.
Fort Worth ISD propositions
With nearly all precincts reporting, voters showed strong support for a school funding formula known as a "penny swap" (Proposition A on the ballot) that would allow the Fort Worth school district to raise an additional $23 million a year. Nearly three in four voters approved the two-penny swap.
The district plans to use the extra money for school improvements, new buses and other projects.
Voters also strongly favored the Fort Worth school district's $750 million bond proposal, the largest in Tarrant County history. That's Proposition B on the ballot — and it received nearly 80 percent of the vote.
The bond package would fund renovations at 14 high schools and relocate three specialty schools, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. It would also fund a new elementary school to ease overcrowding at Tanglewood Elementary.
Learn more about the bond package and penny swap from KERA's Bill Zeeble.
More election results
