Texas Republicans Want to Change State Constitution

Republican voters in Texas on Tuesday supported two ballot propositions regarding amendments to the state Constitution that would modify the election process.

GOP primary-goers were presented with 13 ballot propositions in addition to casting a vote for the next Republican presidential nomination. Among them included two questions regarding the state's higher law: whether the Texas Constitution should be amended to "restore authority to the Texas Attorney General to prosecute election crimes," and if the Constitution should explicitly "require proof of citizenship before any individual can be registered to vote."

The Context

Texas was one of 15 states to hold presidential primaries for both major political parties on Tuesday. Unsurprisingly, both party front-runners—Democratic President Joe Biden and former Republican President Donald Trump—won by a landslide on their respective ballots.

The ballot propositions included on the Republican primary ballot are non-binding, but provide the Texas GOP with insight into which issues are top on voters' minds heading into November. Democratic primary voters did not weigh in on any ballot propositions during Super Tuesday voting.

What We Know

Election integrity has become a top issue for Republicans following Trump's claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him due to widespread voter fraud. There is still no credible evidence, however, that supports Trump's accusations.

Under a Texas Court of Criminal Appeals decision in 2021, the state attorney general is barred from criminally prosecuting individuals who violate Texas' election code. The state's top prosecutor, however, is allowed to seek civil injunctive relief in some election violations.

During Tuesday's election, 90 percent of Republicans agreed that the Texas Constitution should be changed to allow the attorney general to prosecute election crimes, according to the Texas Secretary of State's website.

Article 6 of the Texas Constitution also defines qualified voters as U.S. citizens or "residents" of the state who have registered to vote. The Texas Secretary of State also requires voters to present an acceptable form of photo identification when voting in person.

While Congress passed a law in 1996 that prohibits noncitizens from voting in federal elections, only seven states bar noncitizens from their state and local elections—Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, North Dakota and Ohio. No state constitutions, however, explicitly allow noncitizens to vote.

More than 96 percent of Texas Republicans want their Constitution changed to mandate proof of citizenship before registering to vote.

Views

Texas Governor Greg Abbott, an avid supporter of Trump, has taken steps to bolster the state's election processes following 2020. The former president's voter fraud claims led to a sweeping election law to be passed in 2021, which established new voter ID checks in the mail-in ballot process and made it a crime for local election officials to solicit ballots by mail.

In June 2023, Abbott signed a law that made election fraud a felony in the state as well, roughly two years after Texas House Republicans reduced the penalty for election violations to a misdemeanor.

"We have made tremendous strides toward election integrity in recent years, but we must ensure Texans are confident the legitimate votes they cast will be counted and are not canceled out by someone who has knowingly or intentionally cast an illegal ballot," Texas State Representative Cole Hefner, a supporter of the measure that raised the penalty for election fraud, said at a state House hearing in April 2023.

Newsweek reached out to the Texas Republican Party via email for comment late Tuesday night.

What's Next?

Trump's victory in Texas puts him one step closer to being the official GOP presidential nominee in November. Tuesday's primary allotted Trump 58 out of the 161 Republican National Committee delegates that Texas has up for grabs. Additional delegates will be assigned to the GOP candidate who wins the Republican state convention in May.

Update 03/06/24, 12:32 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information and background.