Starbase (Unincorporated Village), Texas, Establish City of Starbase Initiative (May 2025)

Starbase (Unincorporated) Establish City of Starbase Initiative
Election date May 3, 2025
Topic Local incorporation and boundaries
Status Approved
Type Initiative

Starbase, Texas, Establish City of Starbase Initiative was on the ballot as an initiative in Starbase, Texas, on May 3, 2025. It was approved.

A "yes" vote supported creating the city of Starbase from an unincorporated area in Cameron County, Texas, and establishing Starbase as a Type C general law municipality with a commission form of government comprising a mayor and two commissioners.

A "no" vote opposed creating the city of Starbase from an unincorporated area in Cameron County, Texas, and establishing Starbase as a Type C general law municipality with a commission form of government comprising a mayor and two commissioners.

A simple majority vote (50%+1) was required to approve the ballot measure.

Election results

Cameron County Establish City of Starbase Initiative
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		212	97.25%
No		6	2.75%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

What did the measure do?

The measure changed the unincorporated village of Starbase into a Type C general law city with a commission form of government comprising a mayor and two commissioners.

Elections for mayor and commissioner were held at the same election. Bobby Peden declared his candidacy for mayor. Candidates for the commissioner position included SpaceX Operations Engineering Manager Jenna Pertzelka and SpaceX Senior Director of Environmental Health and Safety Jordan Buss.

To read more about elections in 2025 in Starbase, click here.

What is a Type C general-law municipality?

As of 2025, a Type C general-law municipality was a type of city in Texas. An unincorporated city, town, or village could petition to become a Type C municipality if the population was between 201 and 4,999 inhabitants and met the following territorial requirements:

• comprise less than two square miles if the population is less than 2,000 inhabitants or
• comprise less than four square miles if the population is between 2,001 to 4,999 inhabitants.

As of 2025, Type C cities had a commission form of government with a mayor and two commissioners, each serving two-year terms unless voters adopt a measure to extend terms to four years. The commission must hold at least one regular monthly meeting and can call special meetings as needed.

Type C cities could levy an ad valorem property tax between $250 and $1,500 per $100,000 valuation, depending on population size.

What were the arguments for and against the measure?

Elon Musk said, "SpaceX HQ will now officially be in the city of Starbase, Texas!"

Kathryn Lueders, the general manager of Starbase, said, “To continue growing the workforce necessary to rapidly develop and manufacture Starship, we need the ability to grow Starbase as a community. That is why we are requesting that Cameron County call an election to enable the incorporation of Starbase as the newest city in the Rio Grande Valley. Incorporating Starbase will streamline the processes required to build the amenities necessary to make the area a world class place to live—for the hundreds already calling it home, as well as for prospective workers eager to help build humanity’s future in space."

Brownsville City Commissioner Tino Villarreal, said, "Most of our citizens are afraid of not having beach access. They hear of road closures and disruption of their lifestyle to just go to the beach or go fishing. I also know there is a lot of concern with environmental issues." The organization South Texas Environmental Justice Network (STEJN) opposed the effort, stating that incorporation would allow for SpaceX, through Starbase, to close access to public beaches. STEJN stated, "Boca Chica Beach is meant for the people, not Elon Musk to control. For generations, residents have visited Boca Chica beach for fishing, swimming, recreation, and the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe has spiritual ties to the beach. They should be able to keep access."

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title for Establish City of Starbase Initiative was as follows:

“

City of Starbase Incorporation Election To Incorporate the Community of Starbase, Texas.

”

Full Text

The full text of this measure is available here.

Background

Starbase, Texas

See also: Starbase, Texas

Starbase, an unincorporated village at the time of the vote, is located in Cameron County, Texas, in Boca Chica, near Brownsville, Texas, at the southernmost point in Texas along the Gulf of Mexico near the Mexico border. SpaceX selected the area to serve as its rocket launch facility, Starship production and testing location, and SpaceX headquarters, first breaking ground in 2014.

As of June 2024, Starbase consisted of around 350 acres of land, 220,000 square feet of manufacturing space, and 20,000 square feet of spacecraft bays. As of June 2024, Starbase hosted more than 3,400 full time SpaceX employees and contractors.

With voter approval of the initiative, Starbase became the first new city in Cameron County since Los Indios was incorporated in 1995.

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing local ballot measures in Texas

Proponents were required to collect signatures from at least 10% of the qualified voters within the area that would become Starbase, Texas.

• On December 11, 2024, proponents filed 70 signatures. Cameron County Elections Administrator Remi Garza said about 154 people were registered to vote in Starbase. An affidavit from SpaceX's Senior Manager of Spaceport Operations reported that the area had just under 500 residents.

• On February 10, 2025, County Judge Eddie Treviño, Jr. announced that the signature requirement had been met and ordered the measure to be placed on the May 3, 2025, ballot. He said, "If the election passes, this will be the newest town in Cameron County since Los Indios in 1995. We look forward to seeing the outcome of this election."

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Texas

See below to learn more about current voter registration rules, identification requirements, and poll times in Texas.

How to vote in Texas

Poll times

In Texas, all polling places are open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. local time. Texas is divided between the Central and Mountain time zones. Anyone in line when the polls close must be allowed to vote.

Registration

Check your voter registration status here.

To register to vote in Texas, an applicant must be a United States citizen, a resident of the county in which he or she is registering, and at least 17 years and 10 months old. An individual may also not be a convicted felon whose sentence, including probation or parole, is not complete, or declared mentally incapacitated by a court.

The deadline to register to vote is 30 days before the election. Prospective voters can request a postage-paid voter registration form online or complete the form online and return it to the county voter registrar. Applications are also available at a variety of locations, including the county voter registrar’s office, the secretary of state’s office, libraries, and high schools. Voter registration certificates are mailed to newly registered voters.

Automatic registration

See also: Automatic voter registration

Texas does not practice automatic voter registration.

Online registration

See also: Online voter registration

Texas does not permit online voter registration.

Same-day registration

See also: Same-day voter registration

Texas does not allow same-day voter registration.

Residency requirements

Prospective voters must reside in the county in which they are registering to vote. State law does not specify a length of time for which you must have been a resident to be eligible.

Verification of citizenship

See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States

Texas does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. An individual applying to register to vote must attest that they are a U.S. citizen under penalty of perjury.

State law requires election officials to conduct a check of registered voters' citizenship status. Section 18.068 of the Texas Election Code says the following:

“

The secretary of state shall quarterly compare the information received under Section 16.001 of this code and Section 62.113, Government Code, to the statewide computerized voter registration list. If the secretary determines that a voter on the registration list is deceased or has been excused or disqualified from jury service because the voter is not a citizen or a resident of the county in which the voter is registered to vote, the secretary shall send notice of the determination to the voter registrar of the counties considered appropriate by the secretary.

”

In January 2019, the Texas secretary of state’s office announced that it would be providing local election officials with a list of registered voters who obtained driver’s licenses or IDs with documentation such as work visas or green cards. Counties would then be able to require voters on the list to provide proof of citizenship within 30 days. The review was halted by a federal judge in February 2019, and Secretary of State David Whitley rescinded the advisory in April. A news release from Whitley’s office stated that “... going forward, the Texas Secretary of State's office will send to county voter registrars only the matching records of individuals who registered to vote before identifying themselves as non-U.S. citizens to DPS when applying for a driver license or personal identification card. This will ensure that naturalized U.S. citizens who lawfully registered to vote are not impacted by this voter registration list maintenance process.”

All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. Eight states — Alabama, Arizona, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming — have laws requiring individuals provide proof of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. Three states, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi, require a person provide proof of citizenship if their citizenship status cannot be verified by other means. One state, Ohio, requires proof of citizenship only when registering to vote at a Bureau of Motor Vehicles facility. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters.

Verifying your registration

The Texas Secretary of State’s office allows residents to check their voter registration status online by visiting this website.

Voter ID requirements

Texas requires voters to present photo identification while voting.

The following list of accepted IDs was current as of December 2025. Click here for the Texas Secretary of State's page on accepted ID to ensure you have the most current information.

“

Texas driver’s license issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Texas Election Identification Certificate issued by DPS Texas Personal Identification Card issued by DPS Texas Handgun License issued by DPS United States Military Identification Card containing the person’s photograph United States Citizenship Certificate containing the person’s photograph United States passport (book or card) With the exception of the U.S. Citizenship Certificate, which does not expire, for voters aged 18-69, the acceptable form of photo identification may be expired no more than four years before being presented for voter qualification at the polling place. For voters aged 70 or older, the acceptable form of photo identification may be expired for any length of time if the identification is otherwise valid.

”

Voters who are unable to provide one of the ID options listed above can sign a Reasonable Impediment Declaration and provide one of the following supporting documents:

“

copy or original of a government document that shows the voter’s name and an address, including the voter’s voter registration certificate; copy of or original current utility bill copy of or original bank statement copy of or original government check copy of or original paycheck copy of or original of (a) a certified domestic (from a U.S. state or territory) birth certificate or (b) a document confirming birth admissible in a court of law which establishes the voter’s identity (which may include a foreign birth document)

”

The following voters are exempt from showing photo ID:

• Voters with a disability "may apply with the county voter registrar for a permanent exemption by presenting an acceptable photo identification or following the Reasonable Impediment Declaration procedure in the county."
• Voters who have a religious objection to being photographed and voters affected by a natural disaster declarated by the governor or president of the United States may "vote a provisional ballot, appear at the voter registrar’s office within six (6) calendar days after election day, and sign an affidavit swearing to the religious objection or natural disaster, in order for the voter’s ballot to be counted."

To view Texas law pertaining to voter identification, click here.

Voters who do not have a photo ID can obtain a Texas Election Identification Certificate (EIC) at any Texas driver’s license office during regular business hours. Voters can also obtain an Election Identification Certificate from a mobile station. Locations are listed here.

See also

Local measures

• Local measures in 2025
• Local charter amendments ballot measures

• Cameron County measures

Texas

• Texas 2025 local measures
• Local ballot measures, Texas
• Starbase, Texas

News and analysis

• State and local preemption conflicts
• Measures advancing national agendas

External links

Suggest a link

• Search Google News for this topic

Footnotes

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Year

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