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by Fred Cantu
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AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Legislature is back in session with a list of priorities they need to get to. But new research suggests their top priority may differ from that of voters across Texas.
Texas voters were recently asked about their top legislative priority and school vouchers did not do well at all. The top response from voters– immigration/border security– was offered by 22% of the respondents. School vouchers was the top priority for only 1% of those polled. But supporters of school vouchers say the new UT Texas Politics Project poll is just one poll and does not reflect the thousands who want this to happen.
This poll done in December 2024 was not a multiple choice question. It was open ended and simply asked– “What do you think should be the legislature’s top priority?”
The top priorities most frequently given by respondents:
ALSO | Only 1% of Texans say school vouchers a top issue for state legislature
Down the list, just 1% of the respondents to the poll suggested vouchers should be the Texas Legislature's top priority this session even though some state leaders have already declared it will be their top priority.
The researchers suggest that the voucher issue may have gotten drowned out by state leaders and election year ads frequently pointing to higher prices and wide open borders even though reports suggest inflation was on its way down and Texas hasn't seen a border caravan in two years.
Joshua Blank with the UT Texas Politics Project explained, “Those two issues, the one that voters both feel on a day to day basis in the economy, and the one that they hear about the most from their elected officials in immigration, are the two issues that really, totally, really dominate what voters say that they care about, especially republican voters, whose leaders run state governments.”
This one poll is not likely to influence lawmakers much. They'll be getting plenty of input daily from individuals and organized groups for the 140-day run of the session. And Governor Abbott opened the session saying he "can testify for a fact to the urgent pleas of thousands of Texans" who want "for every parent to choose the school that's best for their child."
