Ballotpedia is covering 47 ballot measures in seven counties in Texas on May 6. Five of the 47 are citizen initiatives, and the remaining 42 were referred to the ballot by a vote of a local governing board, such as a county board or city council.
Compared to the May elections in 2019 and 2021 in Texas, this year’s ballot features nearly three times as many local ballot measures. In 2023, 2021, and 2019, Ballotpedia covered local ballot measures in the top 100 largest cities in the U.S. In 2019, there were 15 measures on the May ballot in Texas. In 2021, there were 16 measures.
A greater number of bond measures and charter amendments has led to the 2023 increase. Of the 42 referred measures, 23 are bond measures totaling over $3 billion in potential bond issues across the state. This compares to three bond measures in 2021 and 13 bond measures in 2019. The May 2023 ballot also features 22 charter amendments — 11 in El Paso, 10 in Irving, and one in San Antonio. There were 10 charter amendments in 2021, and none in 2019.
