Texas

The 2025 legislature put $1 billion in public money toward private school tuition while 180 of 254 counties have zero participating private schools. It spent $11 billion on border enforcement that produces mostly misdemeanor trespassing cases. It blocked cities from requiring water breaks for construction workers during a heat wave.

Attorney General Ken Paxton survived an impeachment trial and settled his whistleblower case for $6.6 million in taxpayer money. He is now running for U.S. Senate with Trump’s endorsement.

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School vouchers

SB 2 puts $1 billion in public money toward private school tuition. The first application window drew 274,000 applications. The state can fund roughly 96,000.

76% of voucher applicants were already in private school or homeschool — 57% in private school, 19% homeschooled

The program pays families $10,474 per student. But only $6,100 of that was state money following the student in public school. The state pays more per voucher student than it was spending on that student in public school. The Legislative Budget Board projects costs will reach $7.9 billion by 2030-31.

180 of 254 counties have zero participating private schools. 70% of enrolled schools are in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin.

Abbott’s PAC spent $8.8 million defeating anti-voucher Republican incumbents in 2024. 65% of Texas voters oppose vouchers. Trump signed a $20 billion federal voucher program modeled on Texas one month after Abbott signed SB 2.

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Border enforcement

$11 billion spent on Operation Lone Star since 2021 in state taxpayer funds

That money came from the state prison system ($360 million), Health and Human Services ($210 million), the juvenile justice department ($31 million), and $975 million in federal COVID relief funds.

90% of OLS court hearings were single-charge misdemeanor trespassing cases. Of 170 early cases resolved, roughly 70% were dismissed or dropped.

Seventeen Texas National Guard members have died on the OLS mission. Seven died by suicide. Sgt. Bishop Evans drowned trying to save two migrants.

SB 4 creates state crimes for unlawful entry and re-entry. A federal court blocked it one day before it took effect.

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Cities can’t set their own rules

HB 2127 — the “Death Star bill” — strips cities and counties of authority to pass local ordinances that exceed state or federal law. It covers nine areas of the Texas code. Anyone can sue a city to invalidate a local ordinance.

The law was signed during a weeks-long heat wave. After preemption, documented heat deaths of Texas workers include Danny Nolasco, 18, who collapsed mixing cement; Ethan Mackay, 21, who died installing fences; and Jose Gallegos, 51, an oilfield worker who died on a rig in South Texas.

A Travis County judge ruled HB 2127 unconstitutional. The appeals court reversed. Bipartisan cities including Arlington, Denton, Plano, and Waco filed letters supporting the challenge.

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Voting

SB 1 banned drive-through voting (used by 127,000 Harris County voters in 2020), banned 24-hour voting, and imposed new ID requirements on mail ballot applications.

Rejection rates by race after SB 1 took effect in the March 2022 primary

Group	Rejection rate after SB 1
Asian voters	19%
Black voters	16.6%
Latino voters	16.1%
White voters	12%

In the March 2022 primary, roughly 24,000 mail ballots were rejected. The rejection rate jumped from about 1% to 12.4%. Of the 30,000 voters rejected, nearly 90% never voted at all in that primary.

A Brennan Center study found voters whose ballots were rejected were still measurably less likely to vote two years later. A rejected application led to a 16 percentage point decrease in turnout in the next general election.

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Ken Paxton

Paxton leads coalitions of 12-20 red-state AGs on EPA rules, firearms regulation, anti-DEI enforcement, and immigration policy. He is now running for U.S. Senate.

Trump endorsed Paxton on May 19, 2026. Post-endorsement polling shows Paxton leading Cornyn 57-35 in the May 26 runoff. In a general election, Paxton is tied with Democrat James Talarico at 45-45. Cornyn leads Talarico 45-44.

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2026 elections

The May 26 Senate runoff between Ken Paxton and John Cornyn will determine whether a candidate with an active corruption record and Trump’s endorsement replaces a three-term incumbent.

In a general election, Paxton ties Democrat James Talarico 45-45. Cornyn leads Talarico 45-44. The general election is November 3, 2026.

The next regular legislative session is January 2027. The voucher program’s first year of enrollment begins fall 2026. If demand continues at current levels, the legislature will face a $6+ billion funding request in the next session.

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Protect yourself right now

1. Check your voter registration. The May 26 Senate runoff is the next election. Verify your status at votetexas.gov. The November general election registration deadline is October 5.

2. Know your school board meeting schedule. Voucher implementation decisions happen at the district level. Your local board needs to hear from parents before fall 2026 enrollment begins.

3. Verify your mail ballot ID. If you vote by mail, confirm that the ID number on your application matches what’s on file with your county. SB 1 rejections happen because of mismatches, not fraud.

4. Call the governor’s office. 512-463-2000. Ask about voucher accountability: why aren’t private schools required to take the STAAR test or accept all students?

5. Show up at town halls. Your state representative voted on vouchers, preemption, and immigration enforcement. Ask them to defend those votes in person.