Majority means more than half of the votes as first cast.
The bill says that in any Texas election where a candidate needs a majority to win a public office, a party office, or a party nomination, the candidate must get more than half of the votes as first cast. It bars using a ranked-choice system, where voters rank candidates and losing candidates' votes get moved to others, to build that majority. This touches cities, counties, other local governments, and political parties, and it overrides any conflicting law outside this part of the Election Code starting September 1, 2025.
Labels
Labels: ZOMBIE BILL. Died 2 times: 88R SB 921 (Died in committee) and this bill (Did not pass). Checked against 88R only.BACK FROM THE DEAD. Same text as a bill filed before that died: 88R SB 921 (Died in committee). Filed in 2 sessions, counting this one. Checked against 88R only.TRY NO. 2. Filed in 2 sessions: 88R and 89R. Checked against 88R only.GOT HALFWAY. Passed the Senate on Apr 15, 2025. Died in the House: voted out of the Elections committee 7-2, then taken up on the floor on May 27, 2025 and postponed.
relating to the determination of a majority vote in certain
elections.
WHAT IT DOES
Majority means more than half of the votes as first cast.
The bill says that in any Texas election where a candidate needs a majority to win a public office, a party office, or a party nomination, the candidate must get more than half of the votes as first cast. It bars using a ranked-choice system, where voters rank candidates and losing candidates' votes get moved to others, to build that majority. This touches cities, counties, other local governments, and political parties, and it overrides any conflicting law outside this part of the Election Code starting September 1, 2025.
CHARGES
[ ] NONE FOUND
TOTAL
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
Senator Hughes moved that Senate Rule 7.18 and the Constitutional Rule requiring bills to be read on three several days be suspended and that SB 310 be placed on its third reading and final passage: SB 310, Relating to the determination of a majority vote in certain elections. The motion prevailed by the following vote: Yeas 25, Nays 6.
Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.
Yea: 25 (published)
Nay: 6 (published)
Present, not voting: Not printed
Absent: 0 (derived from named list)
Excused: 0 (derived from named list)
Senate journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.
Senator Hughes moved to suspend the regular order of business to take up for consideration SB 310 at this time on its second reading: SB 310, Relating to the determination of a majority vote in certain elections. The motion prevailed by the following vote: Yeas 24, Nays 7.
Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.
Yea: 24 (published)
Nay: 7 (published)
Present, not voting: Not printed
Absent: 0 (derived from named list)
Excused: 0 (derived from named list)
Senate journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.
Witnesses74
For
24
Against
48
On
2
Names
For
FGA Action1 registration
Honest Elections Project Action1 registration
Self15 registrations
Self; Harris county ballot security1 registration
Self; SREC Committeeman SD31 registration
Self; SREC Committeewoman SD31 registration
Self; SREC SD111 registration
Self; State Republican Executive Committee1 registration
Self; State Republican Executive Committeeman SD24, Self1 registration
Texas Public Policy Foundation1 registration
Against
Common Cause Texas1 registration
Common cause texas1 registration
Pv pink panthers1 registration
Self39 registrations
Self; Instant runoff voting for Texas1 registration
Self; Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club1 registration
Self; No1 registration
Self; The Libertarian Party of Texas1 registration
Self; TX Impact1 registration
Texas Civil Rights Project1 registration
On
Self1 registration
Texas Secretary of State1 registration
Sources
74 parsed registrations across the loaded witness lists.
Derived stock of witness registrations. Repeated appearances count separately. Organizations and self-representation appear as printed.
89R2113 MPF-D
By: Hughes
S.B. No. 310
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the determination of a majority vote in certain
elections.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 2, Election Code, is
amended by adding Section 2.0215 to read as follows:
Sec. 2.0215. DETERMINATION OF MAJORITY VOTE. (a) In this
section, "preferential voting system" means a voting system which
permits a voter to rank each candidate through a numerical
designation from the candidate the voter favors most to the
candidate the voter favors least.
(b) In an election requiring a majority vote to be elected
to a public or political party office or to receive a political
party's nomination, a candidate must receive more than half of the
votes as originally cast. A majority may not be determined by using
a preferential voting system to reassign votes.
SECTION 2. Section 2.022(b), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) Sections 2.0215, 2.023, 2.025, and 2.028 supersede a law
outside this subchapter to the extent of any conflict.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
Monitoring 
