Formal qualifications governing eligibility for service in the Texas state legislature are found in the Texas state constitution. Informal criteria have also dictated electoral fortunes, as voters in the Lone Star State have typically elected white men. As the population of Texas has become increasingly diversified, however, so, too, has membership in the state legislature. The Texas state constitution lists the formal eligibility requirements for service in the state legislature. Despite some commonalities, different rules apply to those seeking election to the Texas House and the Texas State Senate. For example, a candidate seeking election to either the House or the Senate must be a; those seeking election to the Senate must beat least 26 years old, but candidates for the House need only be years old.
As the graph indicates, the state of Texas has a greater percentage oflegislators than the national average. This might be the case because the state of Texas has a. Latino population than the national average.