Early voting began Tuesday in the most consequential election for public education in recent memory. With pro-public education legislators being targeted by Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and their opponents being funded by pro-voucher PACs, it is vital that educators show up in force to support those who have supported and defended public education. Before you cast your ballot, however, it is a good idea to educate yourself on what else you will see on your ballot. In addition to choosing Republican candidates for the November ballot, Republican primary voters will weigh in on 13 ballot propositions when they head to the polls. Although the propositions do not have any legal ramifications, the results are often used to shape legislation for the following legislative session. (The Democratic primary ballot does not include any propositions.)

Propositions 1 and 11 would have the most direct impact on public education. Proposition 1 states: “Texas should eliminate all property taxes without increasing Texans’ overall tax burden.” Property taxes are the primary means of funding public education in Texas, and elimination of property taxes, particularly without any mechanism for funding to replace them, could be catastrophic for our public education system. This has been a long-standing goal of many Texas Republicans, but plans for replacing the tax revenue lost from ending property taxes have been much less forthcoming. One of the most frequently suggested avenues is increased sales taxes, but unfortunately there would be multiple challenges with this approach. First, a dollar-for-dollar tax swap would require Texas to set the highest sales tax rate in the nation, likely doubling or tripling the current rate. Second, sales taxes tend to be the most regressive of the major types of tax, meaning such a swap would significantly shift the cost of paying the tax from high-wealth Texans, who can most easily afford it, to middle- and lower-income Texans. Third, and perhaps most problematic, this approach would cause state funding, including the funding of our schools, to rely almost 100% on the least reliable funding source. Sales taxes tend to be much more sensitive to short-term economic volatility, and overreliance on them would likely make years with massive budget deficits and resulting education cuts more frequent.

Proposition 11 is a repeat of a 2022 ballot proposition on vouchers. It reads: “Texas parents and guardians should have the right to select schools, whether public or private, for their children, and the funding should follow the student.”  The proposition is very carefully worded in a way that could potentially mislead voters. First and foremost, Texas parents and guardians already have—and, as far as we can tell, have always had—the right to pursue a public, private or homeschool setting of their choice for their children. Second, regarding funding, Texas does not collect funds from taxpayers for all school-aged children. We currently only collect funds from taxpayers for students educated in a public school setting. In order to provide funding to “follow the student[s]” in private- and home- schools, that money would have to come from sources other than current tax collections—either by significantly increasing taxes or significantly decreasing public school funding and reallocating it to current private and homeschool students. The need to either significantly increase taxes, significantly decrease public school funding, or both is exactly what we see playing out in other states that have adopted universal voucher programs similarly worded to bills proposed by Abbott last session.

The rest of the ballot propositions are as follows:

• Proposition 2: Texas should create a Border Protection Unit, and deploy additional state law enforcement and military forces, to seal the border, to use physical force to prevent illegal entry and trafficking, and to deport illegal aliens to Mexico or to their nations of origin.
• Proposition 3: The Texas Legislature should require the use of E-Verify by all employers in Texas to protect jobs for legal workers by preventing the hiring of illegal aliens.
• Proposition 4: The Texas Legislature should end all subsidies and public services, including in-state college tuition and enrollment in public schools, for illegal aliens.
• Proposition 5: Texas urges the United States Congress not to grant any form of amnesty or a pathway to legalization for illegal aliens.
• Proposition 6: The Texas Legislature should prohibit the deployment of the Texas National Guard to a foreign conflict unless Congress first formally declares war.
• Proposition 7: The Texas Legislature should establish authority within the Texas State Comptroller’s office to administer access to gold and silver through the Texas Bullion Depository for use as legal tender.
• Proposition 8: The State of Texas should ensure that Texans are free to give or to withhold consent for any vaccine without coercion.
• Proposition 9: The Republican Party of Texas should restrict voting in the Republican primary to only registered Republicans.
• Proposition 10: The Texas Constitution should be amended to restore authority to the Texas Attorney General to prosecute election crimes.
• Proposition 12: The Texas Constitution should be amended to require proof of citizenship before any individual can be registered to vote.
• Proposition 13: Texas should ban the sale of Texas land to citizens, governments, and entities from China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia.

Again, it is important to note that these ballot propositions have no legal weight and do not become law after the election. However, the results are used to shape future legislation and to justify support for issues such as vouchers.

For more information about the primary, including your sample ballot, polling locations, and additional explanations of the ballot language, check out Vote 411 from the League of Women Voters.