North Texas voters decide on property taxes, bail reform & investments
DALLAS - Polls closed at 7 p.m. on Tuesday for a relatively low-interest election in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, with some important statewide ballot issues involving property taxes and bail reform.
While you may have been seeing a lot of campaign ads on TV, those are mostly for the midterm election next year.
There were some Texas House and Texas Senate races on the ballots, but those were only in a few locations. Residents in cities across the DFW metroplex also voted on a handful of local leaders and propositions.
Dallas-Fort Worth Election Results
Texas Election Results
Texas Constitutional Amendments
Election 2025: Texas propositions on the ballot
SMU political scientist Cal Jillson breaks down some of the 17 propositions on the ballot in Texas.
Everyone voted on 17 statewide propositions and all of them passed.
One important amendment deals with bail reform. It requires judges to automatically deny bond for certain violent crimes.
One essentially guarantees that Texans will never have to pay taxes on an estate because of a person's death, including an inheritance tax or death tax.
Several deal with homestead exemptions. There’s an increase in the property tax exemption for school district taxes from $100,000 to $140,000, as well as an increase from $10,000 to $60,000 for people who are disabled or over 65.
Another creates a homestead tax exemption for the surviving spouse of veterans who die from a service-connected illness and one that lowers property taxes on homes destroyed by fires.
There’s also a proposition about water infrastructure, investing billions of dollars each year to keep parts of the state from running out of water.
Another proposition allows Texas to invest in the establishment of the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas and the Dementia Prevention and Research Fund.
Propositions also require U.S. citizenship to vote in Texas and add language to the Texas Constitution about parental rights.
Texas Election Day 2025: Bail reform, water infrastructure
SMU political scientist Matthew Wilson breaks down some of the key items on the Texas ballot, including bail reform and water infrastructure.
What they're saying:
SMU political scientist Matthew Wilson said the propositions that impact the most Texans are the tax votes.
"One measure would increase the homestead exemption for everyone. And then another measure would create even greater property tax relief for people who are elderly or disabled. So I think those are the two that are going to have the greatest tangible impact potentially on the greatest number of people," he said.
When it comes to water infrastructure, the League of Women Voters made a rare move by encouraging people to vote yes. That organization traditionally does not endorse a candidate or issue.
Bail reform was a bipartisan push by lawmakers. They will be looking to see if Texas voters agree.
Collin County Long Voting Lines
SKY 4 flew over several locations in Collin County on Tuesday with voters lined up outside.
The county moved to paper ballots for this election, which are counted electronically. And FOX 4 received some emails from viewers who reported issues with the new voting process.
Collin County voters wait in long lines on election day
Some voters in Collin County were met with long lines at their polling sites. The county switched to paper ballots this year, though officials have not said whether that’s what was causing the lines.
However, the county elections administrator said he was not aware of any problems at polling locations.
A tax proposal for a new emergency services district is also driving turnout in Collin County.
The Source: FOX 4's Steven Dial gathered details for this story from statewide election ballots and an interview with SMU political scientist Matthew Wilson. Other information comes from latest election results, past news coverage, and the SKY 4 helicopter.