What happened
This past Tuesday was the last day for the public to vote in the Nov. 7, 2023, election.
According to the revised unofficial tabulation of precinct 52 presented by the City, both incumbents kept their seats.
For Mayor, Patrick McNulty ran (uncontested) with 333 early votes and 261 election-day votes, totaling 594.
For SPI City Council Place 4, Incumbent Rees Langston ran with 227 early votes and 175 election day votes, totaling 402, and Tally Ragsdale with 217 early votes and 153 election day votes, totaling 370.
Rees Langston's Filing
10-10-23
Tally Ragsdale's Filings
10-10-23
10-30-23
Total voter turnout for Place 4 was 772, and 594 for Mayor.
Proposition A for Point Isabel ISD school district proposed "Ratifying the ad valorem tax rate of $0.8250 in PI-ISD for the current year, a rate that will result in an increase of 8.74% in Maintenance and Operations Tax Revenue of the district for the current year as compared to the preceding year, which is an additional $3,681,201," and did not pass.
For 743
Against 1,379
According to the information, the purpose of the Voter Approval Tax Ratification Election (VATRE) is to provide raises for the 2023-2024 school year to all employees.
Why it matters
Considering about 2,000 residents who live on the island, this year's voter turnout was 200 votes lower than last year’s election.
Last year's special election for City Council Place 4 totaled 1,058, with 651 votes going to Langston and 407 to Hector Ramos.
What now
Voters also expressed their opinions on 11 other suggested modifications to the Texas Constitution. These included notable amendments solidifying recent property tax reductions, providing retired teachers with a cost-of-living adjustment, and creating a fresh funding stream for research universities in Texas.
In all, 13 of the 14 amendments passed. Here's how the voters decided on the other 11 amendments on the ballot:
✅ Prop 1 (right to farm):
79% FOR
21% AGAINST
✅ Prop 2 (child-care facility property tax exemption)
65% FOR
35% AGAINST
✅ Prop 3 (wealth tax prohibition)
68% FOR
32% AGAINST
✅ Prop 4 (property tax reduction)
83% FOR
17% AGAINST
✅ Prop 5 (Texas University Fund)
64% FOR
36% AGAINST
✅ Prop 7 (Texas Energy Fund)
65% FOR
35% AGAINST
✅ Prop 9 (retired teachers cost of living pension adjustment)
84% FOR
16% AGAINST
✅ Prop 10 (biomedical manufacturer property tax exemption)
55% FOR
45% AGAINST
✅ Prop 11 (El Paso County parks bond issue)
63% FOR
37% AGAINST
✅ Prop 12 (Galveston County abolition of county treasurer)
53% FOR
47% AGAINST
❌ Prop 13 (raising mandatory retirement age of state judges)
37% FOR
63% AGAINST
