Texans headed to the polls this week to vote on 10 constitutional amendments and, in some cities, for mayoral and city council positions. Seven of the 10 constitutional amendments passed, with voters rejecting propositions giving new bonding authority to counties, a conservation district in El Paso and tax breaks for landowners who practice good water stewardship. The dismal turnout, 5.5 percent, was down from 8.1 percent in 2009. The one statewide race on the ballot, a House seat in Brazos County, is headed for a runoff between Republicans Bob Yancy and John Raney. The biggest mayoral contest in the state, though, saw a clear winner — but by a thin margin: Incumbent Annise Parker won with 50.9 percent of the vote, narrowly avoiding a runoff.

Texas redistricting maps for the House, Senate and Congress will be drawn by a panel of federal judges in San Antonio after a Washington court decided to hold a trial before preclearing maps drawn by the Legtislature. Because of the time that will take, the Washington court signaled the Texas to draw legal maps. That gave hope to Democrats and minority organizations that sued the state over the legislative effort, saying it didn't adequately protect minority voting rights.

Travis County tried something new on Election Day, allowing voters to cast their ballots at any polling center, hoping to keep voters from showing up at the wrong places or having to rush to get to their polling places before closing time. The Legislature approved the system this year. To determine the impact of the voting centers, the county hired a Rice University professor to analyze voting day information.

A University of Texas survey has found that one in five Houstonians assess their own health as fair or poor. The survey, led by Stephen Linder of the University of Texas School of Public Health in Houston, is designed to get local leaders talking about strategies to address the lack of access to health care and insurance. The survey mapped the city by neighborhood and ethnic group from a randomly selected group of 5,000 households and was conducted by phone, mail-in and website questionnaires. Three languages were used to gather information: English, Spanish and Vietnamese.

At an annual conference, electricity retailers and brokers agreed that electricity rates are sure to go up for Texans in the next couple of years. The Texas Electricity Professionals Association gathered in Dallas and predicted that the high demand, coupled with natural gas cost increases, will lead to rates that are about 10 percent higher in 2012 and 2013.

Texas and the feds continue to point fingers at each other over the distribution of hurricane recovery funds. After Texas received a reprimand from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for its sluggishness in allocating the funds for rebuilding, the governor’s office responded by blasting the federal government for its guidelines. Kathy Walt, Gov. Rick Perry’s deputy chief of staff, claimed that HUD rejected the state’s plan for distributing the money in November of 2009 for political reasons. But critics of the state’s policies say that the formula proposed to dole out the funds is flawed. The controversial firm hired to help disburse the funds, HNTB, developed the model, which was based on weather intensity instead of actual storm damage.

An audit of the Texas Railroad Commission showed that natural gas pipelines are inspected by the agency at a rate of just 65 percent. Texas has about 270,000 miles of pipeline, the largest network in the country. The Fort Worth League of Neighborhoods has taken the lead on monitoring the impact of the pipelines and hired two researchers to study the more than 900 miles of pipes in the area. The researchers found good and bad news in the state’s report, criticizing regulatory loopholes but praising city and state rules safeguarding pipelines.

Bexar County Democrats were gratified to close the door on the embezzlement trial of former party treasurer Dwayne Adams, who was convicted on charges of theft and misapplication of fiduciary property. Adams received a six-year sentence for stealing money in the party’s bank account that was intended to pay for the 2008 primary. The party has since raised the money to pay back the county for the debt it incurred to finance the primary. Prosecutors asked that Adams be ordered to pay restitution, but the judge did not immediately rule on that request.