Houston Republic

Rep. Mike Schofield introduced HB 209, a bill on Elections, to the Texas House on Thursday, Feb. 27 during the 89(R) legislative session, according to the Texas Legislature website.

More specifically, the official text was summarized by the state legislature as ’’Relating to the separation of federal elections from state and local elections, and to related practices and procedures’’.

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

The bill mandates the separation of federal elections from state and local elections in Texas. It defines federal elections as those for U.S. senators and representatives, separate from elections for electors for president and vice president. A federal office candidate's ballot does not include state or local offices or propositions. Voter registration for federal elections remains valid if in compliance with federal law, even if not registered under state requirements. The secretary of state will create protocols to minimize voter confusion, and, where feasible, federal and state elections will occur concurrently using the same precincts and polling places. The bill takes effect Sept. 1, 2025.

Mike Schofield, member of the House Committee on Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence, proposed no more bills during the 89(R) legislative session.

Schofield graduated from Rutgers University with a BS and again from Louisiana State University with a JD.

Mike Schofield is currently serving in the Texas State House, representing the state's 132nd House district. He replaced previous state representative Gina Calanni in 2021.

Bills in Texas go through a multi-step legislative process, including committee review, debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching a final decision. Each session, there are typically thousands of bills introduced, but only a portion successfully navigate the process to become law.

You can read more about the bills and other measures here.