The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.Texas Bill HB 1406 replaces primary runoff elections with preferential voting systems
Last action · March 11, 2025: Referred to ElectionsSponsor: Terry Meza
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What This Bill Proposed
Relating to preferential voting in a primary election.
The change alters how political party nominees are selected when no candidate wins an initial majority, replacing traditional two-candidate runoff elections with instant-runoff vote reassignments. This shifts administrative procedures for county election officers, political party executive committees, and the secretary of state starting with elections ordered on or after September 1, 2025.
- The Texas Election Code governs the conduct of elections, voter registration, and political party primaries throughout the state. context
- Primary elections in Texas are administered by county election officials and political party executive committees with oversight from the secretary of state. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Texas voters
County election officers
Election administrators must adapt election services, equipment, and expense reporting to accommodate preferential voting and eliminate runoff administration.
Political parties
County and state executive committees must conduct primary nominations under preferential voting rules rather than traditional primary runoffs.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if no candidate wins a majority in a primary election under this bill?
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News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in House committee.
Procedural history
3 actions- Mar 11, 2025HouseCommitteeReferred to Elections
- Mar 11, 2025HouseIntroducedRead first time
- Nov 19, 2024HouseIntroducedFiled
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Transition from Runoff to Ranked-Preference Voting
The bill systematically strikes references to runoff primary elections across multiple sections of the Texas Election Code and replaces them with a centralized preferential voting and vote-reassignment mechanism.
Connected Entities
Sources
capitol.texas.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 85)
- Controversy75Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz60Current news / social attention level
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