Travis County voters rejected Proposition 3, diverged from Texas voters in Nov. 7 election

Travis County voters turned out at higher rates and showed significantly more support for money for teachers, schools, state parks and child care facilities than Texas voters as a whole in Tuesday's election, according to unofficial results. A greater percentage of county residents also backed tax reductions than state voters in total.

The county rejected five of 13 proposed constitutional amendments that Texans passed Tuesday, Propositions 1, 3, 7, 10 and 12. Travis County voters agreed with the state to pass all other propositions except 13, which would have raised the retirement age for state judges from 75 to 79, though even then they differed by wide margins.

The most striking contrast was between Texas and Travis County residents’ votes on Proposition 3, which will prohibit the creation of a wealth or net worth tax in Texas. More than 61% of Travis County voters disapproved of the proposed amendment, while 68% of voters in the state at large passed it.

University of Texas freshman Oluyemisi Bolarn, a first-time voter, was one Travis County resident who strongly opposed the proposition.

“I don’t think we should be protecting the uber-wealthy because genuinely they don’t need our protection," she told the American-Statesman on Tuesday. "They can do it themselves.”

Bolarn was among many Austin residents who formed long lines at the University of Texas Flawn Academic Center on Tuesday to cast a ballot. Travis County went to the polls at higher rates than Texans did, with 14.4% of state voters and 16.4% of the county's 884,806 registered voters casting ballots, according to unofficial results.

Travis County elections: Voters handily pass proposition for transportation improvements

Voters such as Eleanor Pettit-Kruse, a 27-year-old who identifies as a Democrat, also diverged from the typical Texan on Tuesday. She was among Travis County residents who voted against the historic property tax cuts in Proposition 4, though she wishes property taxes were not regressive.

"Texas, because it doesn't have an income tax, finds its income elsewhere," she said. "Property taxes are what fund schools and what fund many of the services that we use every single day."

While Proposition 4 won majority support in Travis County, 67% of county residents voted to approve it, far below the 83% of Texans who did so.

Travis County voters showed more support for allocating state money to teachers, child care centers, parks

Several voters, including Bolarn and Pettit-Kruse, said the cost-of-living increases for retired teachers in Proposition 9 were among the main issues that drove them to the polls.

"We are massively losing teachers across the country and across Texas, so whatever keeps teachers teaching, I'm like, 'Throw money at them,’ ” Pettit-Kruse said. "I don't want Texas to end up like New Mexico and have the National Guard sitting in for classes."

At 88.5%, Travis County residents voted in favor of Proposition 9 by a greater margin — more than 4 percentage points — than state voters did.

County residents were also more interested in increasing research grant funding for Texas public universities (76%) than people in the state at large (64%). More than three-quarters of Travis County voters were in favor of reducing property taxes on child care centers, as opposed to 65% of Texans.

Travis County voted overwhelmingly to increase state park funding and to allow El Paso County to issue bonds for the development of parks and recreational facilities (Propositions 14 and 11).

A greater percentage of Travis County voters also approved Proposition 8, on expanding high-speed internet access, than did the rest of the state.

Texas election results: Which constitutional amendments passed and what does that mean now?

County voted to reject allocation of state money for power plants, reduced taxes for medical manufacturers

On the other hand, Travis County residents were less willing to allocate state money to power plants and medical manufacturers.

County residents rejected Proposition 7, which will create a $5 billion state energy fund for electricity generating facilities, and Proposition 10, which will give tax breaks to medical manufacturers.

The county also rejected Proposition 1, which will limit regulations on farming. While the proposed amendment won in a landslide in Texas — 79% of voters statewide were in favor — Travis County voters were split, with 53% rejecting and 47% approving.

More: Texas voters give resounding approval to $18 billion property tax cut in November election

Travis County vs. other counties

Travis has been the bluest county in Texas in recent years, voting for Democratic presidential and gubernatorial candidates by greater margins than any other county in 2020 and 2022, KXAN found. That difference and other factors, such as Travis' relatively high median income, high diversity and lower median age, might have contributed to the divergence. The county is also much more urban, with a population density of 1,298 people per square mile versus 111.6 in Texas, according to the U.S. census.

However, election results in Travis County and Texas did not split neatly along party lines.

The county voted against several measures that county Democrats encouraged members to approve, including Propositions 1 and 13.

Travis County Republicans also did not see results matching their endorsements. The group urged members to approve only Propositions 1, 3, 4, 9 and 13 in a blog post written by communications director Andy Hogue.

American-Statesman staff writers Lily Kepner and intern Jesus Vidales contributed to this report.

Tallying the ballots

See exactly how Texans and Travis County residents voted on each proposition on statesman.com.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Travis County diverged from Texas voters in proposition election