AUSTIN -- With hours until polls open in a referendum election on 11 proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution, state leaders were back in front of the cameras Monday morning at the State Capitol urging Texans to vote in favor of Proposition 4.
Despite weeks of campaigning, Central Texas voters have so far been apathetic about the changes, according to early voting numbers.
In Travis County, 1.8 percent of registered voters early voted and about 2.2 percent of voters have in Williamson County.
In many places, including the City of Austin, the constitutional amendments, which don't typically garner much voter interest, are the only items on the ballot. A mayoral election in Houston is credited with boosting early voting numbers to about 4 percent in Harris County.
"A vote for Proposition 4 is a vote for attracting the best research minds in the world to Texas," said House Speaker Joe Straus, "A vote for 4 is about leading edge research trying to find a cure for cancer."
Proposition 4 is the plan that would reallocate existing money to help pay for the creation of more Tier One research institutions of higher learning in Texas.
Other proposed amendments would include setting up statewide rules for property tax appraisals, protecting the rights of Texans to access beaches on the Gulf Coast and more clearly laying out when the state can use eminent domain to seize private property.
Still, the plan to beef-up higher education in the state is the one which is getting the most attention from state leaders.
"I want to emphasize that no new tax dollars... are required for this initiative," said Rep. Diane Patrick, R-Arlington.
The state has identified seven public universities across the state which might benefit from the money if voters approve the plan.
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