Three of the nine seats on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the state's highest court for criminal matters, will be decided by voters in November after competitive primary results produced general-election matchups for Places 3, 5, and 9.
Why It Matters
The CCA has exclusive jurisdiction over all capital appeals in Texas, which has carried out more executions than any other state since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. A shift in the court's composition could affect how the court handles actual-innocence claims and jury-charge error reviews.