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SourceLineThe Black Civic Data Platform

Our mission is to make sure Black communities are not simply informed about the decisions shaping our future, but equipped to help make those decisions. An informed community is a powerful community.

State · Congress and state, with local votes in 2 places

Texas

Who represents Texas in Congress and how to reach them, the Black community by the numbers, the national stories told with Texas’s own figures, and what Black newspapers here are reporting. Each figure names its official source.

Look up an address in TexasWhat each level shows

Coming to your state

Who raised Harris County's property tax, and by how much?

On September 17, Harris County Commissioners Court raised the county's tax rate to $0.6715 per $100 of value, up from $0.6241, on a 3 to 1 vote. Commissioners Ellis, Garcia and Briones voted yes, Commissioner Ramsey voted no, and Judge Hidalgo was absent. The Houston Forward Times puts the increase at about $190 a year on a $400,000 home. (Houston Forward Times, October 21, 2026)

Your numbers

About 398,000 Black Texans said they were registered but did not vote in 2024, compared with about 238,000 in 2020. That is the largest number of any state. (Census Bureau survey estimate)

Who pays

Yes, local tax dollars: property owners in Harris County. Supporters point to costs shifted from the state and federal government; the commissioner who voted no cites affordability. SourceLine takes no side.

Who decides

The five members of Harris County Commissioners Court, every September.

What is coming to Texas

When SourceLine is complete here, you will see every Commissioners Court vote, by name, at your address.

Read the Forward Times story · The story and its reporting belong to the outlet that published it. Survey figures are estimates with wider ranges in smaller states.

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About these figures

Every figure on this page shows the year it describes. Public agencies release their numbers on their own schedules, often a year or more after the work of counting is done. The Census Bureau, for example, publishes its five year community survey each December, and the national reading test is given every two years. That is why some figures are not from this year. SourceLine updates each one as soon as the agency publishes it.

For some counties and small towns, SourceLine has not found meeting records online. Where it has not, we add them as they become available. A page that says SourceLine hasn’t updated a record yet means exactly that.