1914 Texas Proposition 1

Referendum on initiative and referendum October 2026 October 2026 November 3, 1914 Texas 62,371 66,785 350px County results 350px Congressional district results Yes #2B2457 90–100% #28497C 80–90% #47729E 70–80% #7D9CBB 60–70% #B6C8D9 50–60% No #32320C 90–100% #5D5D2D 80–90% #8B8B54 70–80% #BCBC83 60–70% #DEDEBD 50–60% Other #EBEEED Tie #808080 No votes Proposition 1 appeared on the November 3, 1914, ballot in the state of Texas as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment. The amendment proposed that citizens of Texas be given the ability to initiate state laws by gathering the signatures of twenty percent of voters, and thereafter by having the petition be decided by all voters via referendum. The amendment also would have allowed for veto referendums with the same 20% signature requirement. The measure narrowly failed, with about 51.7% of voters opposed. Background Legislative passage Senate Joint Resolution No. 12 (SJR 12) placed the amendment on the ballot. The Texas Senate passed SJR 12 by a 21–7 vote on March 3, 1913,March 3, 1913 Senate Journal https://www.lrl.texas.gov/scanned/SenateJournals/33/03031913_37_712.pdf August 6, 2026 Texas Legislative Reference Library 726 April 30, 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20250430152909/https://www.lrl.texas.gov/scanned/Senatejournals/33/03031913_37_712.pdf live and the Texas House, on March 31, passed SJR 12, with amendments to the resolution, by a 98–29 vote.March 31, 1913 House Journal https://www.lrl.texas.gov/scanned/HouseJournals/33/03311913_54_1846.pdf August 6, 2026 Texas Legislative Reference Library 1859–1860 April 25, 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20250425142326/https://www.lrl.texas.gov/scanned/Housejournals/33/03311913_54_1846.pdf live The Texas Senate concurred with the House's amendments by a 23–6 vote the same day, March 31.March 31, 1913 Senate Journal https://www.lrl.texas.gov/scanned/SenateJournals/33/03311913_57_1460.pdf August 6, 2026 Texas Legislative Reference Library 1512–1513 April 30, 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20250430153927/https://www.lrl.texas.gov/scanned/Senatejournals/33/03311913_57_1460.pdf live The House's change to the resolution was authored by Representative Tarver; it deleted from the resolution language stating that the power to enact or reject laws was "independent of the legislature". When adopted by the Texas House, some representatives wrote a reason for their vote in the House Journal; Representative Taylor said he voted in favor to allow voters to decide the issue themselves, but reserved "the right to vote and work against its adoption." Representative Lane also voted in favor but believed that the amendment was an "impracticable and dangerous experiment". State comparison The requirement to gather 20% of Texas voters' signatures would have been the highest number of signatures needed for the initiative and referendum process compared to any other state.Texas https://www.initiativeandreferenduminstitute.org/texas August 6, 2026 Initiative & Referendum Institute August 7, 2026 https://web.archive.org/web/20260807113001/https://www.initiativeandreferenduminstitute.org/texas live Contents and amendment Ballot wording On the ballot, voters were provided with the following two options:October 24, 1914 Official Ballot https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-hondo-anvil-herald-1914-texas-genera/202985313/ August 2, 2026 The Hondo Anvil Herald Newspapers.comFor the amendment to Section 1, of Article 3, of the Constitution of the State of Texas, providing for the initiative and referendum.Against the amendment to Section 1, Article 3, of the Constitution of the State of Texas, providing for the initiative and referendum. Amendment language The measure proposed that constitution be amended to add Section 1 to Article 3:Wortham John L. John L. Wortham 1913 The Laws of Texas https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth10838/m1/474/ August 7, 2026 Volume 16 464 August 8, 2026 https://web.archive.org/web/20260808052619/https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth10838/m1/474/ live Section 1. The legislative power of this State shall be vested in a Senate and House of Representatives, which, together, shall be styled “The Legislature of the State of Texas,” but the people reserve to themselves, power, as herein provided, to propose laws and to enact or reject the same at the polls, and to approve or reject at the polls any law, or any part of any law, enacted by the Legislature. The Legislature shall provide by law for submitting to the vote of the people, upon the petition of twenty per cent. of the qualified voters of the State the enactment of laws and the approval or rejection of any law enacted by the Legislature. Results By county 134 counties voted in favor of the amendment, 108 counties voted against, 10 counties cast no votes, and Hutchinson County's vote was tied.Weinert Ferdinand C. Ferdinand C. Weinert 1914 Biennial report of the Secretary of State of the State of Texas = 1914 https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=chi.089633929&seq=231 August 6, 2026 217 HathiTrust The highest level of support came from Winkler County, with 100% of its 3 votes cast in favor, and the lowest level came from Willacy County, with 3.23% of its votes in favor. +Results by countyCountyYesNo#%#%Anderson87254.64%72445.36%Andrews2760.00%1840.00%Angelina45568.32%21131.68%Aransas9375.00%3125.00%Archer12341.69%17258.31%Armstrong4647.42%5152.58%Atascosa19067.62%9132.38%Austin23622.33%82177.67%Bailey0/0/Bandera16146.80%18353.20%Bastrop31139.17%48360.83%Baylor13653.97%11646.03%Bee16458.78%11541.22%Bell68141.07%97758.93%Bexar154048.13%166051.88%Blanco13545.15%16454.85%Borden2458.54%1741.46%Bosque32941.70%46058.30%Bowie53065.51%27934.49%Brazoria31652.32%28847.68%Brazos17840.36%26359.64%Brewster2634.67%4965.33%Briscoe2543.10%3356.90%Brooks2845.16%3454.84%Brown31236.75%53763.25%Burleson15527.05%41872.95%Burnet15038.36%24161.64%Caldwell21734.44%41365.56%Calhoun13456.54%10343.46%Callahan24551.26%23348.74%Cameron48487.36%7012.64%Camp16028.93%39371.07%Carson3672.00%1428.00%Cass36841.07%52858.93%Castro4367.19%2132.81%Chambers8455.63%6744.37%Cherokee58340.97%84059.03%Childress13055.32%10544.68%Clay25852.87%23047.13%Cochran0/0/Coke9441.05%13558.95%Coleman32843.44%42756.56%Collin77048.00%83452.00%Collingsworth19062.09%11637.91%Colorado15529.36%37370.64%Comal12121.88%43278.12%Comanche47540.77%69059.23%Concho16961.90%10438.10%Cooke36439.39%56060.61%Coryell19625.36%57774.64%Cottle14471.64%5728.36%Crane0/0/Crockett1252.17%1147.83%Crosby6043.17%7956.83%Culberson832.00%1768.00%Dallam9964.29%5535.71%Dallas184548.39%196851.61%Dawson2156.76%1643.24%De Witt22928.66%57071.34%Deaf Smith6558.04%4741.96%Delta36949.07%38350.93%Denton35334.07%68365.93%Dickens7061.40%4438.60%Dimmit8573.91%3026.09%Donley13250.38%13049.62%Dunn0/0/Duval46597.89%102.11%Eastland50950.10%50749.90%Ector2543.10%3356.90%Edwards2761.36%1738.64%El Paso56946.56%65353.44%Ellis94250.62%91949.38%Erath55551.72%51848.28%Falls56449.39%57850.61%Fannin63141.76%88058.24%Fayette43127.68%112672.32%Fisher20363.44%11736.56%Floyd18372.91%6827.09%Foard0/0/Fort Bend19738.48%31561.52%Franklin11234.78%21065.22%Freestone31449.92%31550.08%Frio10762.94%6337.06%Gaines1858.06%1341.94%Galveston58867.20%28732.80%Garza3060.00%2040.00%Gillespie20232.17%42667.83%Glasscock934.62%1765.38%Goliad9432.87%19267.13%Gonzales32041.03%46058.97%Gray9775.19%3224.81%Grayson92550.77%89749.23%Gregg13741.52%19358.48%Grimes16839.25%26060.75%Guadalupe43128.26%109471.74%Hale14661.34%9238.66%Hall20565.92%10634.08%Hamilton15529.81%36570.19%Hansford3975.00%1325.00%Hardeman21160.81%13639.19%Hardin0/0/Harris176557.77%129042.23%Harrison24651.25%23448.75%Hartley2261.11%1438.89%Haskell46861.18%29738.82%Hays22653.05%20046.95%Hemphill7268.57%3331.43%Henderson69446.39%80253.61%Hidalgo31457.30%23442.70%Hill49641.03%71358.97%Hockley0/0/Hood18742.40%25457.60%Hopkins68148.47%72451.53%Houston54049.86%54350.14%Howard18357.91%13342.09%Hunt98850.05%98649.95%Hutchinson1450.00%1450.00%Irion3162.00%1938.00%Jack21644.81%26655.19%Jackson14166.20%7233.80%Jasper18745.17%22754.83%Jeff Davis770.00%330.00%Jefferson36358.45%25841.55%Jim Hogg6485.33%1114.67%Jim Wells10859.34%7440.66%Johnson58654.26%49445.74%Jones31756.01%24943.99%Karnes17137.92%28062.08%Kaufman68253.20%60046.80%Kendall6632.84%13567.16%Kent3851.35%3648.65%Kerr14259.92%9540.08%Kimble5260.47%3439.53%King541.67%758.33%Kinney770.00%330.00%Kleberg23575.08%7824.92%Knox17949.18%18550.82%La Salle3251.61%3048.39%Lamar63356.12%49543.88%Lamb1058.82%741.18%Lampasas9730.41%22269.59%Lavaca71848.12%77451.88%Lee20234.30%38765.70%Leon36554.89%30045.11%Liberty17755.66%14144.34%Limestone47143.98%60056.02%Lipscomb7890.70%89.30%Live Oak10480.00%2620.00%Llano0/0/Loving0/0/Lubbock11060.11%7339.89%Lynn4166.13%2133.87%Madison18738.96%29361.04%Marion9555.88%7544.12%Martin2750.94%2649.06%Mason7046.67%8053.33%Matagorda31868.68%14531.32%Maverick4182.00%918.00%McCulloch25653.00%22747.00%McLennan53043.19%69756.81%McMullen1062.50%637.50%Medina24639.05%38460.95%Menard4857.83%3542.17%Midland6551.18%6248.82%Milam75953.75%65346.25%Mills20639.39%31760.61%Mitchell14170.85%5829.15%Montague46350.11%46149.89%Montgomery25256.12%19743.88%Moore866.67%433.33%Morris13038.01%21261.99%Motley3260.38%2139.62%Nacogdoches42937.63%71162.37%Navarro52447.81%57252.19%Newton9056.60%6943.40%Nolan17949.31%18450.69%Nueces48765.11%26134.89%Ochiltree3177.50%922.50%Oldham1762.96%1037.04%Orange16465.86%8534.14%Palo Pinto51358.36%36641.64%Panola35547.84%38752.16%Parker72960.55%47539.45%Parmer1588.24%211.76%Pecos7160.68%4639.32%Polk17346.13%20253.87%Potter20674.91%6925.09%Presidio2530.86%5669.14%Rains30971.36%12428.64%Randall5353.00%4747.00%Reagan1134.38%2165.63%Real3333.67%6566.33%Red River54155.20%43944.80%Reeves7966.39%4033.61%Refugio22456.42%17343.58%Roberts2958.00%2142.00%Robertson27943.06%36956.94%Rockwall22051.04%21148.96%Runnels22042.31%30057.69%Rusk30025.30%88674.70%Sabine8534.98%15865.02%San Augustine14340.40%21159.60%San Jacinto6033.15%12166.85%San Patricio18055.56%14444.44%San Saba17835.39%32564.61%Schleicher1217.65%5682.35%Scurry19153.80%16446.20%Shackelford8246.07%9653.93%Shelby65355.67%52044.33%Sherman3462.96%2037.04%Smith102554.73%84845.27%Somervell10546.05%12353.95%Starr19930.71%44969.29%Stephens13151.78%12248.22%Sterling4641.07%6658.93%Stonewall13975.14%4624.86%Sutton4068.97%1831.03%Swisher5656.57%4343.43%Tarrant243761.92%149938.08%Taylor36153.72%31146.28%Terrell1047.62%1152.38%Terry3665.45%1934.55%Throckmorton14556.42%11243.58%Titus30640.10%45759.90%Tom Green21258.89%14841.11%Travis49540.21%73659.79%Trinity17244.22%21755.78%Tyler9930.28%22869.72%Upshur32956.82%25043.18%Upton838.10%1361.90%Uvalde15060.98%9639.02%Val Verde10466.24%5333.76%Van Zandt80552.75%72147.25%Victoria20130.55%45769.45%Walker22834.76%42865.24%Waller11135.13%20564.87%Ward5966.29%3033.71%Washington8513.22%55886.78%Webb12341.00%17759.00%Wharton18645.26%22554.74%Wheeler11668.24%5431.76%Wichita30461.41%19138.59%Wilbarger21350.59%20849.41%Willacy13.23%3096.77%Williamson52246.11%61053.89%Wilson15233.33%30466.67%Winkler3100.00%00.00%Wise44743.57%57956.43%Wood55947.25%62452.75%Yoakum1466.67%733.33%Young29458.22%21141.78%Zapata0/0/Zavala5672.73%2127.27% By congressional district Five congressional districts voted in favor, and 11 voted against. District 12 had the highest percentage of votes in favor, with 55.59% in favor, and District 10 had the lowest, with 36.77% in favor.county County results, as shown above, were summed by congressional districts; Texas did not split any counties across districts at the time of the referendum.Weinert Ferdinand C. Ferdinand C. Weinert 1914 Returns of a General Election Held November 3, 1914. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=chi.089633929&seq=212 September 28, 2026 HathiTrust 198Note: the above source omits Coke County from the 16th district; newspaper reporting from that time period confirms that this county was in fact in that district.Congressman W. R. Smith Re-elected The Colorado Record July 31, 1914 2 +Results by congressional districtcountyCDYesNo#%#%13,92548.34%4,19551.66%23,85248.20%4,13951.80%34,53147.92%4,92452.08%43,62349.33%3,72150.67%53,83247.29%4,27152.71%62,52547.67%2,77252.33%72,66653.66%2,30246.34%83,50946.06%4,10953.94%93,73141.46%5,26958.54%102,21336.77%3,80563.23%112,12639.96%3,19460.04%125,07455.59%4,05344.41%136,14952.92%5,47047.08%143,80341.83%5,28858.17%154,73853.66%4,09146.34%166,07453.48%5,28346.52% Aftermath and analysis Closeness of vote Three days after the referendum, the Wichita Weekly Times reported that Proposition 1, and the other two constitutional amendments that voters decided at the election, had likely failed. The paper said, however, that a "possibility" remained that Proposition 1 would succeed, as it was only losing slightly.November 6, 1914 All Constitutional Amendments Probably Defeated Tuesday https://www.newspapers.com/article/wichita-weekly-times-1914-texas-proposit/205488609/ September 7, 2026 Wichita Weekly Times Newspapers.com Rural and urban vote In general, urban voters backed the amendment, while rural voters opposed it.November 7, 1914 The Amendments https://www.newspapers.com/article/waco-semi-weekly-tribune-1914-texas-prop/203321698/ August 7, 2026 Waco Tribune-Herald Newspapers.comNovember 4, 1914 All the Amendments Defeated in Texas https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-waxahachie-daily-light-1914-texas-pr/203321510/ August 7, 2026 Waxahachie Daily Light Newspapers.comNovember 5, 1914 All Amendments Defeated—Initiative and Referendum Vote Is Largest. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-austin-american-1914-texas-propositi/203322249/ August 7, 2026 Austin American Newspapers.com Analysis from newspapers shows that rural voters may have been what caused the amendment to fail. Notes References Category:Texas ballot measures Category:November 1914 in the United States Category:1914 in Texas