Voter Turnout in Texas Constitutional Amendment Elections Across Five Decades

This paper examines voter turnout in Texas constitutional amendment elections in 1975 and in 2025 to better understand the county-level factors that explain variation in participation rates. Texas holds frequent constitutional amendment elections, yet these elections typically generate lower turnout than candidate elections. Understanding participation patterns over fifty years provides insight into the evolution of civic engagement and the factors that drive or suppress amendment voting. This study analyzes county-level voter turnout data from Texas constitutional amendment elections in 1975 and 2025. The dataset includes demographic characteristics and political variables for all 254 counties in Texas. Regression analysis identifies predictors of turnout while controlling for structural changes in Texas’ electorate over time.