2026 Midterm Election
- When is Early Voting? Early voting begins Monday, Oct. 19 and runs through Friday, Oct. 30.
- When is Election Day? Tuesday, Nov. 3, is Election Day and polling locations will be open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. You can vote if you’re in line by 7 p.m. on Election Day.
- Federal races: (U.S. Senate, U.S. House)
- State races: (Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General, Comptroller, GLO Commissioner, Agriculture Commissioner, Railroad Commissioner, State Board of Education, Texas Senate, Texas House)
- County races: (Collin, Dallas, Denton, Tarrant, Rockwall)
- Judicial races: (Texas Supreme Court, Court of Criminal Appeals, Court of Appeals, District Courts, County Courts, Justice of the Peace Courts)
- Bonds and Props: There are several bonds and propositions on ballots; they’re broken down here by schools, municipalities and counties.
- Previous results: Here are the results from the March primary and runoff.
Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD is asking voters to consider two tax increases: one that the district says will increase the tax rate by $.04 cents per $100 of property valuation, and another that will convert the school bus M&O debt to I&S debt. The latter is expected to cost the average homeowner $ 0.11 per year while providing the district with $3 million per year.
Eagle Mountain-Saginaw Independent School District Special Election – Proposition A
THIS IS A TAX INCREASE “Ratifying the ad valorem tax rate of $1.2857 per $100 valuation in the Eagle Mountain-Saginaw Independent School District for the current year, a rate that will result in an increase of 5.23 percent in maintenance and operations tax revenue for the District for the current year as compared to the preceding year, which is an additional $6,159,156.”
Eagle Mountain-Saginaw Independent School District Special Election – Proposition B
THIS IS A PROPERTY TAX INCREASE “The issuance of bonds in the amount of $20,000,000 of Eagle Mountain-Saginaw Independent School District for the purpose of refunding all or a portion of the principal and/or interest on certain previously issued maintenance tax obligations of the District styled “Eagle Mountain-Saginaw Independent School District Maintenance Tax Notes, Series 2026″, and the levying of a tax sufficient to pay the principal of and interest on the bonds.”
More information on the bond can be found here.
HOW ARE TEXAS SCHOOL DISTRICTS FUNDED?
Texas school districts are funded by three sources: Federal money, state money and local taxes. Local taxes comprise two tax rates, Maintenance and Operations (M&O) and Interest and Sinking (I&S), set by the school board. M&O is the money used to pay for the day-to-day operations of a school district, including salaries and professional development, utilities, curriculum, building maintenance, and student services. I&S is the money generated from bonds to pay for new buildings, renovations, security, buses and other large expenses. The I&S tax rate is used to repay the bonds. Funding approved for M&O and I&S projects can’t be mixed.
HOW CAN BOND MONEY BE SPENT?
Bond money can only be spent on capital projects like new buildings, renovations, security upgrades, land acquisition, and other non-recurring costs. It can’t be spent on salaries, staff, utilities, fuel, or other recurring costs. The money repaid from a bond will include interest over time, generally 30 years. Many districts try to repay their bonds early to save on the interest obligation.
WHAT IS A VATRE?
VATRE stands for Voter Approval Tax Rate Elections. If a district needs to increase funding for salaries, daily operating expenses, or other recurring costs, then they have to ask voters to approve of an increase of the M&O Voter Approved Tax Rate (VATR). Many districts hold VATREs to increase M&O funding because they have a deficit. Prior to the 2025 legislative session, state legislators went six years without increasing funding for schools, and with inflation and the addition of unfunded mandates, such as adding an armed officer on each campus, many school districts say they are strapped for cash.
‘THIS IS A PROPERTY TAX INCREASE’
A state law requires Texas school districts to include the statement, “This is a property tax increase,” on every ballot proposition. That is true even if the proposition does not increase the tax rate. In their proposals, many Texas school districts say they can issue bonds without increasing the I&S rate. This is often done by taking on new bond debt as old, declining debt is paid off. Read the district’s proposal thoroughly to understand whether voting for the bond package will result in a tax rate change. Even without an increase in the tax rate, changes in property tax appraisals could result in a larger tax bill for the property owner.
Election Day is Nov. 3; early voting begins Monday, Oct. 19, and runs through Friday, Oct. 30.
