Early voting for the Tuesday, November 7 election begins Monday, October 23 and will continue through Friday, November 3. There are statewide constitutional amendments on the ballot, along with a bond election and school board election in Aquilla and a bond election in Covington.
Early voting locations for Hill County residents will be the Covington Street Annex at 126 South Covington Street in Hillsboro, the Precinct 1 Annex at 5800 Farm Road 933 in Whitney (Huron) and the Hubbard Civic Center at 300 North Magnolia Street in Hubbard.
Polling places will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the first week of early voting; 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, October 28; noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday, October 29; and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the last week of early voting, with the exception of the Hillsboro location, which will have extended hours until 8 p.m. the final week.
Bosque County early voting locations will be the Bosque County Elections Administration Office, located at 104 West Morgan in Meridian, and the Clifton Civic Center, located at 403 West 3rd Street in Clifton. Hours will be 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays through November 1, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, October 28, and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. November 2 and 3.
Election Day voting will be held at individual polling places located throughout the county, and they will be printed before Election Day.
Aquilla ISD has two school board seats available in November. Incumbent Will Pinner filed to retain his seat, and others on the ballot will be Amber Cain, Jerry Juhl, Jimmy Wade and Kevin Clepper. Aquilla ISD is also asking voters to approve a plan that would include seven new instructional classrooms, a multi-event center and a new track and field at a total cost of $11.4 million.
Covington ISD is proposing a new school building addition with the majority of its $9,997,000 bond proposal. The project would include demolition of a portion of the existing building to create a new storm-hardened addition containing bathrooms, four classrooms, a science lab, a family consumer sciences lab, a student gathering area and a transition corridor back to the school gym.
Other aspects of the project would include a new weight room, locker room, concession stand and bathrooms for athletics, and a new ADA-accessible playground with accessories would also be added.
Constitutional amendments will also be on the ballot statewide. There will be 14 proposals to vote on.
Proposition 1 is the constitutional amendment protecting the right to engage in farming, ranching, timber production, horticulture and wildlife management.
Proposition 2 is the constitutional amendment authorizing a local option exemption from ad valorem taxation by a county or municipality of all or part of the appraised value of real property used to operate a child-care facility.
Proposition 3 is the constitutional amendment prohibiting the imposition of an individual wealth or net worth tax, including a tax on the difference between the assets and liabilities of an individual or family.
Proposition 4 is the constitutional amendment to authorize the legislature to establish a temporary limit on the maximum appraised value of real property other than a residence homestead for ad valorem purposes; to increase the amount of the exemption from ad valorem taxation by a school district applicable to residence homesteads from $40,000 to $100,000; to adjust the amount of the limitation on school district ad valorem imposed on the residence homesteads of the elderly or disabled to reflect increase in certain exemption amounts; to except certain appropriations to pay for ad valorem tax relief from the constitutional limitation on the rate of growth of appropriations; and to authorize the legislature to provide for a four-year term of office for a member of the board of directors of certain appraisal districts.
Proposition 5 is the constitutional amendment relating to the Texas University Fund, which provides funding to certain institutions of higher education to achieve national prominence as major research universities and drive the state economy.
Proposition 6 is the constitutional amendment creating the Texas water fund to assist in financing water projects in this state.
Proposition 7 is the constitutional amendment providing for the creation of the Texas energy fund to support the construction, maintenance, modernization, and operation of electric generating facilities.
Proposition 8 is the constitutional amendment creating the broadband infrastructure fund to expand high-speed broadband access and assist in the financing of connectivity projects.
Proposition 9 is the constitutional amendment to authorize the 88th Legislature to provide a cost-of-living adjustment to certain annuitants of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas.
Proposition 10 is the constitutional amendment to authorize the legislature to exempt from ad valorem taxation equipment or inventory held by a manufacturer of medical or biomedical products to protect the Texas healthcare network and strengthen our medical supply chain.
Proposition 11 is the constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to permit conservation and reclamation districts in El Paso County to issue bonds supported by ad valorem taxes to fund the development and maintenance of parks and recreational facilities.
Proposition 12 is the constitutional amendment providing for the abolition of the office of county treasurer in Galveston County.
Proposition 13 is the constitutional amendment to increase the mandatory age of retirement for state justices and judges.
Proposition 14 is the constitutional amendment providing for the creation of the centennial parks conservation fund to be used for the creation and improvement of state parks.
For more details about the election, including explanatory statements for each proposition, visit http://www.votetexas.gov.
The Lakelander 