Live results: Texas 18th congressional district 2025 election

WASHINGTON (AP) — Texans will vote on a slate of constitutional amendments Tuesday while some voters in Houston will choose from 16 candidates across the ideological spectrum in a special election to fill a vacant congressional seat.

Voters will check whether they are “for” or “against” 17 state constitutional amendments on issues ranging from parental rights, judicial conduct, changes to the bail system, state taxes and more. In addition, there are citywide ballot measures, local and municipal elections, and a state Senate race in Fort Worth.

Most statewide ballot measures deal with taxes: capital gains (Proposition 2), animal feed (Proposition 5), and securities (Proposition 6), to name a few.

Two ballot measures in particular reflect the political messaging of national Republicans. Proposition 15 asserts that “parents are the primary decision makers for their children,” a hot issue for Gov. Greg Abbott and Republicans in Congress. Proposition 16 clarifies that “the elector shall be a citizen of the United States,” even though it is already illegal for people who are not citizens of the United States to vote in federal elections. The Tarrant County Democratic Party’s voting guide says it remains “neutral” on Propositions 15 and 16 since they rewrite “existing law,” while the Bexar County Democratic Party is using the same logic to oppose both ballot measures.

Read more: Maine and Texas are the latest fronts in the voting battles, with voter ID and citizenship on the ballot

Sixteen candidates are competing in the Eighteenth Congressional District, after the death of Representative Sylvester Turner. If no candidate exceeds 50% of the vote, the top two vote-getters will advance to a runoff. Kamala Harris carried the Houston district, which includes George Bush Intercontinental Airport, by 40 percentage points in 2024, putting Democrats in a strong position to hold the seat.

The seat became vacant after two of its representatives died within less than a year of each other. Longtime Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee died in July 2024. Her daughter, Erica Lee Carter, finished Jackson Lee’s term and endorsed Turner for the seat afterward. But Turner died two months into his term, prompting the next special election.

Lee Carter was endorsed by Harris County District Attorney Christian Menefee, who also received support from prominent Texas Democrats including Rep. Jasmine Crockett, Colin Allred and Beto O’Rourke.

Amanda Edwards — the former city councilwoman who lost a primary challenge to Jackson Lee — is one of the race’s top fundraisers and has the backing of EMILY’s List, a national group that supports women running for office. State Rep. Jolanda Jones, who represents part of Houston, is supported by the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund. Isaiah Martin, who has more than 600,000 followers on TikTok, is running as a self-described “Gen Zer” candidate.

There are five Republican candidates on the ballot, including Theodis Daniel, the father of a childhood cancer survivor who was named an honorary Secret Service agent during Trump’s final joint address to Congress. Also on the ballot is independent candidate George Edward Foreman IV, son of the late heavyweight boxing champion.

Here’s a look at what to expect on Tuesday:

How long are the polls open?

Statewide polls close at 7 p.m. local time, but the state is divided into two time zones. Polls in most parts of Texas close at 8 PM ET, while polls in the western part of the state close at 9 PM ET. The 18th Congressional District lies entirely within the Central Time Zone, so polls there close at 8 p.m. ET.

What’s on the ballot?

The AP will present voting results and announce winners in the special elections in the 18th Congressional District and in 17 statewide ballot measures.

Who is entitled to vote?

Any registered voter in Texas may cast a ballot on the 17 statewide ballot measures. Any registered voter in the 18th Congressional District may participate in the special election.

What does turnout and advance voting look like?

As of January, there were about 18.3 million registered voters in Texas. Voter registration is not carried out by party.

In the 2024 presidential election, participation was approximately 61% of registered voters. About 80% of voters in that election were cast before Election Day.

There were approximately 420,000 registered voters in the 18th Congressional District in that election, and approximately 52% of them voted in that election. About 78% of votes were cast early or absentee before Election Day.

As of October 28, a total of 759,969 votes had been cast before Election Day. Check AP’s early voting tracker for the latest update.

How long does it usually take to count votes?

In the 2024 presidential election, the Associated Press first reported results at 8 p.m. ET, just as polls closed in the Central Time Zone. By the time polls closed in the Mountain Time Zone at 9 p.m. ET, about 62% of the votes had been counted. More than 99% of the votes were counted by noon the next day Eastern time.

In the 18th Congressional District race that year, the AP first reported results at 8:31 p.m. ET. By 9:07 a.m. ET the next morning, 99% of the votes had been tabulated.

Are we there yet?

As of Tuesday, there will be 364 days until the 2026 midterm elections and 1,099 days until the 2028 general election.

– Leah Askarinam, Associated Press

Associated Press writer Robert Yuen contributed to this report.

Find out more 2025 voting coverage