Amendments to the Constitution are voted on in special elections. In the special election held on November 6, 2007 there were no fewer than sixteen proposed amendments to the Constitution. These ranged from a proposal to allow state judges to finish out their terms after reaching the mandatory retirement age while still serving on the bench to the abolish of the office of Inspector of hides and animals. Still, the power to approve or reject proposed amendments to the state Constitution is important, and sometimes the proposed amendments actually address core issues related to the functioning of our state government. (See the discussion of [link]397|Mode of Amendment[/link] in the Constitution chapter of Texas Politics.)