Follow for 2023 Texas Election Day live updates: Get unofficial voting results

Austin American-Statesman
Updated ·12 min read

Follow along for live updates and results for key statewide and local races.

11:45 a.m. update, Wednesday: Here are the final vote percentages for each proposed Texas amendment

Unofficial but final voting results are in from the Texas Secretary of State's office, confirming that Texas voters approved all proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution except Proposition 13, which would have raised the mandatory age of retirement for state justices and judges to 79 years old. The vote counts break down as follows:

  • Proposition 1: Limiting regulations on farming — 79% for, 21% against

  • Proposition 2: Tax breaks for child care centers — 65% for, 35% against

  • Proposition 3: Barring an individual wealth tax — 68% for, 32% against

  • Proposition 4: Authorizing property tax cuts — 83% for, 17% against

  • Proposition 5: Research at public universities — 64% for, 36% against

  • Proposition 6: Funding for water projects — 78% for, 22% against

  • Proposition 7: Funding for electricity plants — 65% for, 35% against

  • Proposition 8: Expanding high-speed internet — 69% for, 31% against

  • Proposition 9: Cost-of-living increase for teachers — 84% for, 16% against

  • Proposition 10: Tax breaks for medical manufacturers — 55% for, 45% against

  • Proposition 11: El Paso County parks — 63% for, 37% against

  • Proposition 12: Abolishing the Galveston County treasurer's office — 53% for, 47% against

  • Proposition 13: Retirement age for judges — 63% for, 37% against

  • Proposition 14: $1 billion for state parks — 76.5% for, 23.5% against

See the totals for each proposition: Texas election results dashboard

8 a.m. update: All but one proposed Texas amendment likely to pass, unofficial results indicate

Unofficial voting results from 99% of polling locations in Texas indicate voters will pass all proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution except Proposition 13, which would have raised the mandatory age of retirement for state justices and judges to 79 years old.

The landslides races of the night were Proposition 4, authorizing property tax cuts, and Proposition 9, providing cost-of-living adjustment to teacher retirement pay, which each received 83% of the vote.

Proposition 10, concerning tax breaks for medical manufacturers, and Proposition 12, abolishing the Galveston County Treasurer's office, were the closest races, currently with 55% and 53% of the vote, respectively.

11:20 p.m. update: Travis County Calls Election ― both Proposition A and B pass

Travis County voters overwhelmingly pass both Proposition A and B with over 75% of the vote each.

Proposition A would authorize the county to issue $233.06 million in bonds for road and infrastructure improvements.

Proposition B seeks approval for $276.44 million in bonds for parks and land acquisition.

9:55 p.m. update: Cody Smith defeats mom of slain Robb Elementary student in Uvalde mayoral race

In a symbolic and widely-followed race, Uvalde residents overwhelmingly voted to elect former mayor Cody Smith to the city's highest elected office over Kimberly Mata-Rubio, a gun control advocate and mom of a slain Robb Elementary student, according to unofficial but final election results Tuesday night.

He will serve for one year to complete the term of Don McLaughlin, who announced in July that he was stepping down to seek higher office in the Texas House. His decade in office included leading the mostly Latino community through the devastating mass shooting at Robb Elementary, where 19 elementary school students and two teachers were killed on May 24, 2022.

The landslide victory — Smith won 65% to Mata-Rubio's 32% — came despite Mata-Rubio receiving at least $80,000 in campaign contributions from donors across the country.

Elementary school art teacher Veronica Martinez came in third place in the three-way race, receiving just under 2% of the vote.

"I'll never stop fighting for you, Lexi," Mata-Rubio wrote in a statement on X Tuesday night.

9:40 p.m. update: Texas State Teachers Association praises expected passage of Proposition 9

Texans appeared on track to overwhelmingly approve a $3.4 billion pension payment increase for retired teachers and other former public school employees, according to partial election results.

As of 9:30 p.m., nearly 84% of voters statewide — with 96% of counties reporting — approved Proposition 9, which would give a cost-of-living pay bump between 2% and 6% to retired teachers, according to the Texas secretary of state's office.

Ovidia Molina, president of the Texas State Teachers Association, and Barbara Davis-Staley, president of the association’s retired chapter, applauded the proposition's expected passage.

“Many of these retired educators, who spent their careers putting millions of Texas children on the road to success as adults, have been struggling to make ends meet,” Molina and Davis-Staley said.

9:15 p.m. update: Unofficial voting returns show Proposition A and Proposition B likely to pass in Travis County

Travis County Proposition A and Proposition B widened their lead with the second batch of unofficial vote returns released just before 9 p.m., rising to 76% and 77% in favor, respectively.

Proposition A would authorize the county to issue $233.06 million in bonds for road and infrastructure improvements. Proposition B seeks approval to issue $276.44 million in bonds for parks and land acquisition.

The propositions together are the most expensive ballot initiative in the county's history.

8:55 p.m. update: Texas early vote totals by percentage

Early voting numbers — with 87% of counties reporting — posted by the Texas secretary of state's office results were broken down by the American-Statesman into percentages below:

  • Proposition 1: Limiting regulations on farming — 78.22% for, 21.77% against

  • Proposition 2: Tax breaks for child care centers — 65.29% for, 34.71% against

  • Proposition 3: Barring an individual wealth tax — 68.08% for, 31.91% against

  • Proposition 4: Authorizing property tax cuts — 84.05% for, 15.95% against

  • Proposition 5: Research at public universities — 65.33% for, 34.67% against

  • Proposition 6: Funding for water projects — 78.89% for, 21.11% against

  • Proposition 7: Funding for electricity plants — 65.31% for, 34.69% against

  • Proposition 8: Expanding high-speed internet — 70.18% for, 29.81% against

  • Proposition 9: Cost-of-living increase for teachers — 84.07% for, 15.93% against

  • Proposition 10: Tax breaks for medical manufacturers — 56.14% for, 44.86% against

  • Proposition 11: El Paso County parks — 64.39% for, 35.61% against

  • Proposition 12: Abolishing the Galveston County treasurer's office — 54.39% for, 45.61% against

  • Proposition 13: Retirement age for judges — 38.94% for, 61.06% against

  • Proposition 14: $1 billion for state parks — 76.68% for, 23.32% against

8:35 p.m. update: Texas tax relief proposal projected to pass after early vote shows strong support

Texas voters appear overwhelmingly in favor of granting themselves a whopping $18 billion property tax cut in Tuesday's off-year election to amend the state constitution, according to the early vote tally.

"The largest property tax cut in Texas history has passed thanks to Texans who made their voices heard at the polls today!" Gov. Greg Abbott said in social media post Tuesday night as unofficial returns showed the measure passing by a wide margin — 84% to 16% — with just over 40% of the state's voting places reporting.

The final vote has not yet been finalized.

If approved, Proposition 4 would exempt the first $100,000 of a homestead's appraised value from taxation and also would slash school districts’ maintenance and operations property tax rate by 10.7 cents per $100 of a property’s value. The present homestead exemption caps out at $40,000.

The early vote also showed voters in favor of most of the proposed amendments, except for Proposition 13 which would raise the retirement age for state judges.

8:30 p.m. update: Uvalde mayor's race: Cody Smith charges ahead of Kimberly Mata-Rubio in unofficial early voting results

Former Mayor Cody Smith takes an early lead in a three-way race for Uvalde's next mayor. Kimberly Mata-Rubio, who became a gun control advocate after her daughter was killed in the Robb Elementary mass shooting last year, had out-raised Smith by $55,000 but was trailing by a wide margin after the early vote results were tallied.

The city's top elected office came up for grabs after Mayor Don McLaughlin in July announced his resignation to seek higher office in the Texas House.

Smith, a banker who served as Uvalde’s mayor from 2008 to 2012, received 68% of the early vote, with more than 1,090 ballots cast in his favor.

Including his four years as mayor, he served 17 years total on the Uvalde City Council and is currently senior vice president of First State Bank of Uvalde.

Mata-Rubio trails far behind with 30% of the early vote, or 480 ballots. In third place is elementary school teacher Veronica Martinez, who received just under 2% of the early ballots cast — 29 votes.

Mata-Rubio received national media attention and more than $80,000 in campaign contributions from donors across the country. She had spent $44,337 by Oct. 10, according to campaign finance filings.

Smith reported raising $25,672 in political contributions and spending $7,467 as of Oct. 10. The majority of Smith’s contributions came from individual donors residing in Uvalde, campaign finance filings show. Martinez reported just $500 of campaign spending from personal funds.

Read more: Uvalde mayor election: Cody Smith takes early lead over mom of slain Robb Elementary student

7:40 p.m. update: Sen. Paul Bettencourt declares victory for Texas Prop 4

Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, the author of the bill related to Proposition 4 — which would increase the property tax homestead exemption from $40,000 to $100,000 — announced victory in an emailed statement to the American-Statesman about 30 minutes after the polls closed Tuesday night.

"As I predicted, Proposition 4 was passed tonight by a supermajority of voters because of the State’s surplus they will see eye-popping savings!" the email stated.

The state's election results so far show early voters in favor of Proposition 4 by 82.73%, with 17.27% against.

The state is currently reporting early vote results for 43% of counties and 4% of polling locations. The Election Day vote has not yet been tallied.

7:15 p.m. update: Travis County propositions take early lead

Travis County Proposition A and Proposition B are received more than 75% support from early voters, according unofficial early vote returns.

Proposition A would authorize the county to issue $233.06 million in bonds for road and infrastructure improvements.

Proposition B seeks approval to issue $276.44 million in bonds for parks and land acquisition.

7 p.m. update: Polls close, early voting results expected soon

The polls have officially closed. Check back soon to see early voting results for state and local races on our website and read live updates as results roll in through the night. You can also watch live ballot counting in Travis, Williamson, Hays and Bastrop counties here.

Live numbers: Austin-area Local Election Results 2023

3 p.m. update: Poll wait times exceed 51 minutes at two Travis County sites. Here's how to check wait times in your precinct

Travis County voters casting ballots Tuesday afternoon might want to steer clear of two polling places: Riverbend Centre for the Arts in the Lake Austin area and the UT Flawn Academic Center on the UT campus. As of 3 p.m., both locations are reporting wait times of more than 51 minutes.

More than 140 polling locations in the county currently have wait times of less than 20 minutes, while the Bee Cave City Hall and the Pflugerville Public Library are reporting 21-50 minute delays.

For real-time information about wait times at your local precinct, visit the Travis County's elections page and click on the tab "Wait Times."

2:45 p.m. update: Where to watch Texas election livestreams, and why some counties are required to have them

Want to watch county officials count ballots from the comfort of your home? Several Austin-area counties have ballot-counting livestreams running today. Here's where to find them:

Watch: All of the livestreams in one place

Early and mail-in ballots will be counted during the day; counting of Election Day votes will begin after polling places close at 7 p.m.

This year is the second year that counties with more than 100,000 residents have been required to livestream ballot storage and counting areas 24/7 for several weeks around Election Day. The Texas Legislature passed a law creating this mandate in 2021 in response to concerns about voter fraud and ballot tampering. Read more about the 2021 law — and what it has meant for local election officials — here.

Race preview: Uvalde to decide new mayor in symbolic race for gun control

In a race that has attracted national attention, Uvalde voters Tuesday night will decide who will succeed Mayor Don McLaughlin, a Republican whose decade in office included leading the mostly Latino community through the May 2022 devastating mass shooting at Robb Elementary, where 19 children and two teachers were killed. McLaughlin announced in July that he was stepping down to pursue higher office in the Texas House.

Among the three candidates is Kimberly Mata-Rubio, a gun control advocate whose 10-year-old daughter Lexi was killed in the Robb Elementary school shooting. Since her daughter's death, Mata-Rubio has been an advocate of stronger firearms regulations and serves as president of Lives Robbed, a group aimed at reducing gun violence and honoring the legacy of the Robb Elementary shooting victims.

Cody Smith, a banker and former mayor, and Veronica Martinez, an elementary school art teacher, are also seeking Uvalde's top elected office. Martinez shares a similar position as Mata-Rubio on gun violence and has political experience as the former village mayor on a military base in Colorado, the Uvalde Leader-News reported.

What's on the ballot?

Propositions:

Bonds:

Endorsements:

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Election Day live updates on Texas propositions, election results