Every Texan is represented in the state legislature by a senator who is typically up for reelection every four years. Once a decade, however, the Texas Senate randomly relegates half of its members to a two-year term, essentially booting them from the chamber a full two years earlier than their peers who were elected at the same time.
Random assignment of term lengths is a practice unique to Texas and neighboring Arkansas. To fully understand it, we’ll look first at how it is done, then why.
It happens once a decade in January, when the Texas Legislature convenes. The senators draw lots to determine whether a senator will serve for fours years or for only two.
This is how it works: One by one, senators walk to the front of the senate chamber and pick a paper out of a glass jar containing 31 numbered papers. Those who pick an even number go on to serve a two-year term and those who pick an odd number go on to serve a four-year term. The last time this lottery took place was in 2013 and the next time it’s scheduled to happen is 2023.
The even and odd groups are referred to as “classes.” The even group of 15 senators is eligible for two four-year terms after serving its two-year term, while the odd group of 16 senators first serves a four-year term and then is eligible for only one more four-year term before being required to serve a two-year term.
In this way, one group of senate districts follows a 4-4-2 pattern while a second group follows a 2-4-4 pattern. The pattern resets itself every 10 years with a new lottery.
The reason for this practice is that Texas conducts redistricting every ten years after each U.S. Census. This allows the Texas Senate to accurately reflect population changes in the various senatorial districts.
The U.S. census is always carried out in calendar years ending in “0” – 1990, 2000, 2010, 2020, and so on. So redistricting takes place in years ending in “1,” and an election in which the entire senate is up for grabs takes place in years ending in “2.” For example, the census carried out in 2000 was followed by redistricting in 2001 and then an election based upon the new districts in 2002.
This is how the Texas Constitution explains it: “The Senators shall be chosen by the qualified voters for the term of four years; but a new Senate shall be chosen after every apportionment [redistricting], and the Senators elected after each apportionment shall be divided by lot into two classes. The seats of the Senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the first two years, and those of the second class at the expiration of four years, so that one half of the Senators shall be chosen biennially thereafter” (Art. 3 Sec. 3).
The lottery system has political implications that are difficult to gauge. In the first place, candidates running for Senate in years ending in “2” will not know whether they are shooting for a 2-year job or a 4-year job. They will only find out after they win.
Secondly, senators who draw the short end of the straw tend to be less involved in the legislature than their long-term peers, according to a study published in the academic journal Political Science Research and Methods. The study, called “Drawing Your Senator From a Jar: Term Length and Legislative Behavior,” found that short-term Texan senators were more likely to abstain on votes than long-term senators, while in Arkansas the short-termers were less likely to sponsor bills.
The author, Rocío Titiunik, concluded that these behavioral changes were “likely the combined effect of a reallocation of limited resources towards campaign activities, and an avoidance of position-taking on bills and votes that may be politically costly.” In other words, senators who draw the short end of the straw tend to be more cautious in how they vote and more preoccupied with getting reelected.
Of course, the effect of short terms on lawmakers is not unique to the Texas system. Twelve states actually use a two-year term system for all of their senate terms. Six others, besides Arkansas and Texas, use 2-4-4 systems without a lottery system. Illinois, for example, uses a 2-4-4 system but makes clear to candidates prior to their races whether they will serve a two-year or four-year term.
