Jackson County voters approve amendments

Jackson County voters overwhelmingly voted against a future state income tax by voting “yes” on Proposition 4 in the Special Election held Nov. 5.     

With six voting locations open across the county, 843 total votes were cast on election day and 405 during early voting. Of those votes, 1,103 voted for Prop. 4 and 138 voted against it. Statewide, voters approved the proposition with 1,467,994 votes, or by 74%.     

Currently, Texas is only one of nine states that does not have a personal income tax. The Texas State Constitution requires the legislature to put legislation enacting an income tax before voters as a statewide referendum, which voters could approve or reject. Proposition 4 strengthens a ban on a state income tax. To remove the ban in the future would require a constitutional amendment, needing a two-thirds vote in each legislative chamber and voter approval. In simple terms, the proposition added an extra layer of protection against income tax for Texans.     

All the state amendments passed, with Proposition 9 coming in the closest at 52 percent for and 48 percent against allowing the legislature to exempt precious metals held in a precious metal depository from property taxation