Republicans at the top of the Ballot (Texas)

Yes—for the partisan general-election races you voted in, Republican candidates are listed first throughout Texas, not just in your precinct or city. The same statewide rule applies even in cities and counties that usually vote Democratic.

Why Republicans appear first

Texas Election Code § 52.091 orders parties according to how many votes their candidates for governor received statewide in the most recent gubernatorial general election. The party receiving the most votes gets the first position; the others follow in descending order. On ballots organized in columns, that means the leftmost column; on ballots listing candidates vertically within a race, it means the first candidate listed.

Republicans currently get that position because Republican Greg Abbott won the last gubernatorial election. So what you noticed is a state-law requirement—not a decision made by your local election officials, and not based on which party won your particular precinct. The law does not permanently name Republicans as the first party; the order depends on the statewide gubernatorial result.

What the rule does—and doesn’t—cover

For a partisan race with a Republican nominee, that candidate appears ahead of the other parties’ candidates statewide.
That does not mean every race necessarily starts with a Republican: some races may have no Republican candidate.
Nonpartisan contests, such as many city and school-board elections, do not use this party-ranking rule. The rule concerns candidates appearing as political-party nominees.

In other words, the candidates on your ballot vary with where you live, but the party-order rule for the partisan general-election contests does not.

democrats were on the top of list in ia. assume alphabetical.

There was no option for pulling a straight Republican ticket, but since Repubs were at the top of each choice it made it easy to vote.

Here’s hoping this law brings us a solid victory for Abbott, Paxton and other Republicans.

I have noticed similar ranking on my ballot here in Florida, but may be a county thing rather than state-wide. My county is strongly Republican.

There was no option for pulling a straight Republican ticket

The Republicans removed the ability for straight party tickets about 8 years ago in Texas.

In Pennsylvania (and I am sure other states) the top of the list is based on the party of the governor. Therefore, all races in PA have democrats at the top of the list.