Texas voter turnout falls in 2024 election despite record registration numbers
A historic 18.6 million Texans were registered to vote in the 2024 election, and 61% cast ballots, a nearly 6% drop from the 2020 presidential race. Full Story
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![Voters wait in line to cast their ballots in the 2024 presidential election at the Esperanza Acosta Memorial Library. Voters waited in line in upwards of two hours in El Paso, Texas on November 5, 2024.]()
Credit: Justin Hamel for The Texas Tribune -
See final results from Texas for the November 2024 election
Texans voted in several races, including for the President, a U.S. Senator, U.S. House members and more. Full Story
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9 million Texans voted early in 2024. Here’s how that compares to previous years.
The turnout rate dropped more than 8 percentage points compared to four years ago — a high-water mark for the Lone Star State. Full Story
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![Voters visit the Gilmer Civic Center during the first day of early voting on Monday October 21, 2024, in Gilmer.]()
Credit: Michael Cavazos for The Texas Tribune
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A pro-gun, anti-abortion border sheriff appealed to both parties. Then he was painted as soft on immigration.
Immigration is not part of Joe Frank Martinez’s job. But in Del Rio, like in other majority Latino communities across the country, the issue is high on voters’ minds and is disrupting long-standing political allegiances. Full Story
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![The memory of nearly 20,000 primarily Haitian immigrants arriving at the border is seared into the minds of Del Rio residents. Many fear it could happen again, making immigration one of the key issues in Sheriff Joe Frank Martinez’s race for reelection and disrupting local politics.]()
Credit: From left: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune, Liz Moughon/ProPublica, Gerardo del Valle/ProPublica -
Takeaways from our reporting on Texas’ housing affordability crisis
The Texas Tribune examined the state’s housing affordability crisis and why the state has struggled to build enough homes to meet demand. Full Story
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![San Antonio neighborhoods on May 25, 2024.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
How 11 Texas cities made housing unaffordable — and what’s being done to fix it
Texas desperately needs more and denser housing to keep up with the demand. But zoning restrictions get in the way, a Texas Tribune analysis found. Full Story
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![Share art for the zoning regulations story for the affordable housing series.]()
Credit: Carla Astudillo -
Search the newly updated Texas state employees salaries database
The Texas Tribune’s database of Texas state employees’ compensation is updated to represent salaries as of October 1. Full Story
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Credit: Photo Illustration by Ben Hasson / Texas Tribune -
Texas’ high housing costs sparked a movement to bring them down. The fight could shape the state for years to come.
A new breed of activists wants Texas to tame costs by building more housing. But longstanding opposition to such policies remains strong. Full Story
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![Council members and Austin Mayor Kirk Watson are present in person during the Austin city council meeting on Thursday, May 16, 2024 in Austin. Zohaib "Zo" Qadri, Paige Ellis, Mackenzie Kelly, Mayor Pro Tem Leslie Pool and José "Chito" Vela were in person with Mayor Kirk Watson]()
Credit: Maria Crane/The Texas Tribune -
Texas turnout rate slightly down after first three days of early voting
State data shows just two of Texas’ most populous counties have surpassed their voter turnout rate in 2020. Full Story
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![Voters line up outside of the Rosenberg Annex as early voting begins in Texas on Monday, Oct. 21, 2024, in Rosenberg.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
In Texas’ biggest purple county, this far-right Republican is creating a playbook for local governing
From cutting social services to changing election rules, Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare has pushed his agenda with an uncompromising approach. Full Story
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![Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare listens to Commissioner Roy Charles Brooks after Brooks tells the attendees of the meeting that O’Hare “broke the system” in Fort Worth on April 18, 2023. Following a conversation between O’Hare and Elections Administrator Heider Garcia, Garcia announced his resignation. O’Hare denied responsibility, saying “I did not ask Heider to resign. I did not put pressure on Heider to resign. I did not threaten to fire Heider, I did not threaten to bring him before the election commission for review to determine if he would keep his employment. He chose to resign on his own.”]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Texas schools are hiring more teachers without traditional training. They hope the state will pay to prepare them.
Schools are hiring instructors with different types of backgrounds to deal with critical staff shortages. Full Story
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![First year educator Amanda McIntyre interacts with her students at Freeport Intermediate School in Freeport, Texas, on August 16,2024. She recently completed her teacher apprenticeship program.]()
Credit: Douglas Sweet Jr. for The Texas Tribune -
What Texas can learn from Italy’s big bet on tiny community health homes
In Italy, as in Texas, funding hospitals over primary care leaves many feeling “medically homeless.” Italy’s post-COVID plans show another way. Full Story
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![Parma_Casa Della Salute di San Secondo Parmense, Cardiologist, Paolo Pattoneri with patients met by chance]()
Credit: Margherita Mirabella for The Texas Tribune -
Texas takes its first steps to protect its mountain lions
While many other states limit hunting of the apex predator, Texas is only now introducing rules to ban canned hunts and require regular checking of traps. Full Story
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![Mountain lions generally are found in remote mountains, canyonlands, or hilly areas with good cover. In Texas, they are found throughout the Trans-Pecos region, the brushlands of South Texas and parts of the Hill Country.]()
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Here’s your ballot for the Nov. 5 Texas elections
Texas voters will elect officials in the presidential, congressional, statewide and legislative races. Full Story
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Texas likely undercounting heat-related deaths
Deaths from heat are notoriously difficult to quantify because of how complex and subjective the process is. It leaves officials with an incomplete picture of who heat kills. Full Story
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![Robert Shipp, 75, of Bastrop, sweats while receiving treatment from Austin-Travis County EMS first responders inside an ambulance during a 102 degree summer day outside Austin Wrench-A-Part in Del Valle on July 7, 2023. According to the EMS crew, he passed out while searching for car parts under the hot sun.]()
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Unregulated oilfield power lines are suspected of sparking Texas wildfires
No state agency is taking responsibility for making sure the privately built lines that power many oil and gas sites are safe. Such lines have been blamed for sparking two recent Panhandle fires. Full Story
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![Craig Cowden shows parts of his property that are negligent from oil companies using his land, Sunday, July 7, 2024, at Breezy Point Ranch in Pampa, Texas. Cowden has made numerous complaints about the live wires and trash on his property.]()
Credit: Annie Rice for The Texas Tribune -
Search the newly updated Government Salaries Explorer
The Texas Tribune’s database of Texas state employees’ compensation is updated to represent salaries as of July 1. Full Story
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Credit: Photo Illustration by Ben Hasson / Texas Tribune -
Interstate 27 has divided Lubbock for decades. North and east side residents want that to change.
After repeated attempts to convince the City Council to make zoning changes, residents asked the federal government to intervene. Full Story
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![Northbound motorists drive on I-27 south of Plainview, a route traveled by many that seek abortion healthcare while headed out of Texas.]()
Credit: Mark Rogers for The Texas Tribune -
Here’s how much Ted Cruz and Colin Allred raised in their U.S. Senate race
Updated fundraising figures show that the Senate candidates have fundraised a combined $193 million. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, left, and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.]()
Credit: The Texas Tribune -
A look at the Texas mental health workforce shortage
A guide to some of the professions that make up the mental health workforce. Full Story
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![The Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists holds a discussion with the Association of State & Provincial Psychology Boards regarding the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology on Thursday, April 11, 2024, in Austin. Mariann Burnett-Atwell, PSY.D., Michelle Paul, PH.D., Jennifer Laforce, PH.D., Hao Song, PH.D., and Alex Siegel, J.D., PH.D. sat on the panel during the discussion.]()
Credit: Maria Crane/The Texas Tribune