DALLAS – Texas voters are deciding $4.76 billion of local bond proposals in a presidential election that is drawing heavy turnout in early voting.
The bond proposals to be decided Nov. 8 come from 17 school districts, nine counties, eight cities and one community college district, according to a
A record 15 million Texans have registered to vote, representing 78% of the state's voting-age population, according to the Texas Secretary of State's Office. Several of Texas' most populous counties have reported record turnout in early voting that began Oct. 24.
The bond proposals are slightly lower than the $5 billion on the May 7 ballot, of which $4.54 billion or about 91% were approved.
A year ago, voters approved a record $8.7 billion of local bonds or 96% of the $9.1 billion on the ballot.
A heavy turnout and a long list of candidates could work against bond issues that appear at the end of the ballot, said Mark P. Jones, professor of political science at Rice University and leader of a research team that conducts polling with the University of Houston's Political Science Department.
"There is always the prospect that when voters are faced with an issue they've heard nothing about, they tend to vote no," Jones said. "In a presidential election, you have a large percentage of low-information voters. When you get all the way down to the bond issues, it may be that the first time they've ever heard about that bond issue is when they are in the polling place. If they have never heard much information about it, they tend to vote no."
In what Jones calls "one of the most intensive and divisive elections we've had," many voters have told pollsters that they are turning out to vote against either Republican Donald Trump or Democrat Hillary Clinton.
The degree to which that negative mindset affects down-ballot issues remains to be seen, but Jones said that Republicans who would ordinarily vote straight ticket but want to vote against Trump will have to go through the entire ballot. "Ballot fatigue" might have set in by the time they get to
One of the highest-profile issues on city bond ballots is Arlington's proposition to raise $500 million through sales taxes for a new Texas Rangers Major League Baseball stadium. Unlike the current 22-year-old Globe Life Park, the new venue would feature a retractable roof that would allow air conditioning.
According to a mid-October poll sponsored by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and Dallas television station WFAA, Arlington voters were evenly split on the proposal.
Arlington opponents of the new stadium tax known as "Citizens for a Better Arlington" claim support from the Tarrant County Republican Party and a majority of precinct chairs for the county Democratic Party.
"The loudest voices speaking in favor of taking this deal as-is are the billionaires who stand to benefit from our tax dollars being used for their benefit and their cronies at City Hall," said CBA spokesman Andy Prior. "Our poll data continues to show that more voters oppose this deal than support it."
Proponents of the new stadium counter that their polling shows voters in favor of the proposal and note that revenue backing the bonds would come from the existing half-cent sales tax currently supporting debt for the Dallas Cowboys football stadium.
The tax would be repurposed after the Cowboys bonds are paid off. Additional revenue would come from the existing 2% hotel occupancy tax and 5% car rental tax voters approved in 2004 for the football stadium.
Supporters of the tax measure play on fears that the Rangers could move elsewhere in the Metroplex – amplified by recent rumblings that the team could decamp for Dallas, 17 miles to the east.
"The Texas Rangers have been a vital engine for Arlington's economy," Michael Jacobson, president the Arlington Chamber of Commerce, said in a prepared statement. "Losing a world class organization to another city would have a devastating impact, taking millions in spending and valuable jobs away from our city."
The Arlington proposition is the second largest city bond proposal behind Austin's $720 million transportation bond issue. Austin voters have twice rejected light-rail proposals, but the upcoming issue focuses primarily on streets and congestion.
Austin's bonds have also drawn organized opposition from groups claiming the enhanced corridors would do little to reduce congestion and from taxpayers balking at higher property taxes.
With its economy continuing to grow, Austin is the second-largest triple-A-rated city in Texas behind San Antonio.
In the Panhandle city of Amarillo, the largest bond proposal in the city's history seeks $340 million for a wide array of traditional infrastructure needs. The bonds would require a property tax increase, but city officials say that streets, drainage and other needs have suffered because of an unrealistically low tax rate.
Among 17 school districts seeking a combined $2.8 billion of bonds, El Paso Independent School District's request for $668.7 million tops the list. The bond election is the district's first in a decade. In 2014, an engineering firm cited $1.2 billion in needed renovation, deferred maintenance and modernization. A citizen's bond committee cut that list in half.
Another district with aging classrooms, San Antonio ISD, is seeking $450 million. Bond approval would require a 12-cent increase in the property tax rate next year.
Separately, SAISD is asking voters to consider another 13-cent tax rate increase to take effect this year. That increase, called a Tax Ratification Election, or TRE, would pay for the district's day-to-day operations. The district says the TRE would generate $15.6 million in tax revenue. The state would match it with another $16.5 million.
In the Houston area, the Spring ISD is asking voters for $330 million of school bonds, and the Pearland ISD is seeking $220 million.
In Corpus Christi, the city, the school district and the Del Mar Community College District are all seeking bond approvals.
Corpus Christi ISD is asking for $194 million of bonds to upgrade schools. The city is asking for $18 million, and Del Mar CCD requests $139 million.
Of the nine counties seeking a combined $532 million of bond authority, Hays County in the suburbs of Austin has the largest proposal at $237 million. Those bonds would pay for roads in the fast-growing county.
