How has Texas voter registration changed since the last constitutional amendment election?
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Voting is underway ahead of the statewide constitutional amendment election in Texas on Nov. 7.
Fourteen proposed amendments to the Texas constitution are on the ballot, along with several local and school elections.
November's election comes two years after the last constitutional amendment election, in November 2021. Since then, more than 760,000 Texans have registered to vote across the state.
According to figures from the Texas Secretary of State, more than 17.7 million people are currently registered to vote in the state. That means 763,362 more people are on the voter rolls compared to two years ago, an increase of 4.49%.
Of Texas' 254 counties, 184 saw an increase in the number of registered voters over that two-year span, while 70 saw a drop in voter registration.
Suburban counties, particularly surrounding Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Austin and San Antonio, saw the largest increases in voter registration, echoing an increase in population in those counties.
Kaufman County, just outside Dallas, had an increase in voter registration of 14.22%, more than any other county. Kaufman is also the fastest-growing county in the state, based on 2022 population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Eleven other counties saw an increase in voter registration of more than 10%, including suburban counties like Waller, Rockwall, Ellis, Comal and Montgomery.
Harris County, home to Houston, added more voters than any other county — an increase of more than 100,000 over the past two years. Denton and Bexar counties each added more than 50,000 new voters, while Tarrant and Collin counties added more than 40,000.
Jefferson County, home to Beaumont and Port Arthur, had the largest decrease in the number of registered voters, losing 1,726 voters from the rolls. DeWitt, Hale and Jim Wells counties each lost more than 500 voters.
But Bailey County, northwest of Lubbock, saw the largest percentage decrease. The number of registered voters in the county dropped by 334, a 9.64% decrease.
Voter registration in Central Texas
In the 15 counties that make up the KXAN viewing area, more than 92,000 people registered to vote between November 2021 and November 2023, a 5.69% increase.
About 36,000 of those were in Travis County, while 27,000 were in Williamson County. Just over 15,000 newly registered voters live in Hays County. Bastrop, Burnet and Caldwell counties each added more than 1,000 new voters to their rolls.
Blanco County had the largest percentage increase in voter registration, up 10.35% compared to November 2021. Hays and Bastrop counties each saw increases of more than 9%, while the number of registered voters in Burnet County increased by more than 8%.
San Saba County was the only local county to have a decrease in the number of registered voters, down 19, or 0.51%, over the past two years.