Early voting in March Republican and Democratic primary elections will begin Tuesday, February 20, and continue through Friday, March 1.
There will be several contested races at the county level for Hill and Bosque county residents, along with a number of statewide and federal decisions to make.
Most county races will be decided after the primaries with Republican candidates being unchallenged in November’s general election.
Hill County voters can cast early ballots at the Hill County Covington Street Annex at 126 South Covington Street in Hillsboro, the Hill County Precinct 1 Annex at 5800 Farm Road 933 in Whitney (Huron) and the Hubbard Civic Center at 300 North Magnolia Street in Hubbard.
During the first week of early voting — from Tuesday, February 20, through Friday, February 23 — polling places will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. Weekend voting hours will be available at the Hillsboro early voting location from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, February 24, and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday, February 25. On the second week of early voting, the Hillsboro location will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and the Hubbard and Huron locations will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Early voters who are new to the county and plan to cast a limited ballot for races in common between their old and new county of residence can only do so at the Hillsboro voting location.
Early voting for Bosque County residents will be offered at the Bosque County Elections Administration Office, located at 104 West Morgan in Meridian, or at the Clifton Civic Center, located at 403 West 3rd Street in Clifton.
Bosque County voters can cast ballots from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, February 20, through Friday, February 23; 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, February 24; 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, February 25; and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, February 26, through Friday, March 1.
On Election Day, Tuesday, March 5, voters will cast ballots at individual polling locations. A list of polling locations will be printed prior to this date.
Races on the ballots, and candidates as they will appear on the ballots, include:
REPUBLICAN PRIMARY
County Races
Hill County Attorney: R. David Holmes
Hill County Sheriff: Hunter Barnes, Rodney B. Watson
Hill County Tax Assessor-Collector: Cody Brannen, Krystal (Krissi) Hightower
Hill County Commissioner, Precinct 1: Jim Holcomb, Michael Richardson
Hill County Constable, Precinct 1: Rob Best, Kyle T. Nevil
Hill County Constable, Precinct 2: Justin Girsh
Hill County Commissioner, Precinct 3: Scotty Hawkins
Hill County Constable, Precinct 3: Larry D. Armstrong
Hill County Constable, Precinct 4: Kevin Cordell
Bosque County Attorney: Max Smith, Zach Brown
Bosque County Sheriff: Trace Hendricks
Bosque County Tax Assessor-Collector: Annie Dawson, Arlene Swiney
Bosque County Treasurer (unexpired term): Pam Browning
Bosque County Constable Precinct 1: Scott Ferguson
Bosque County Commissioner Precinct 1: Billy Hall, Steven Skipper
Bosque County Constable Precinct 2: Jay Sparkman
Bosque County Commissioner Precinct 3: Chad Holt, Larry (Shotgun) Philipp
Bosque County Chair: Marisusan Kennedy
State Races
District Attorney, 66th Judicial District (Hill County): Mark Pratt
District Attorney, 220th Judicial District (Bosque County): Adam Sibley
State Representative, District 13: Angelia Orr
Railroad Commissioner: Christie Clark, Corey Howell, James “Jim” Matlock, Christi Craddick, Petra Reyes
Justice, Supreme Court, Place 2: Jimmy Blacklock
Justice, Supreme Court, Place 4: Brian Walker, John Devine
Justice, Supreme Court, Place 6: Jane Bland
Presiding Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals: David J. Schenck, Sharon Keller
Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 7: Barbara Parker Hervey, Gina Parker
Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 8: Lee Finley, Michelle Slaughter
Chief Justice, 10th Court of Appeals District: Matt Johnson
Federal Races
President: Asa Hutchinson, Chris Christie, Vivek Ramaswamy, Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, David Stuckenberg, Ryan L. Binkley, Donald J. Trump, Uncommitted (Note: Christie, DeSantis, Hutchinson and Ramaswamy had dropped out of the race as of press time.)
United States Senator: Holland “Redd” Gibson, Ted Cruz, RE (Rufus) Lopez
United States Representative, District 31 (Bosque County): Abhiram Garapati, William Abel, John Carnan Anderson, Mike Williams, Mack Latimer, John Carter
United States Representative, District 6 (Hill County): James Buford, Cliff Wiley, Jake Ellzey
Republican Ballot Propositions
(Select Yes or No)
1.) Texas should eliminate all property taxes without increasing Texans’ overall tax burden
2.) Texas should create a Border Protection Unit, and deploy additional state law enforcement and military forces, to seal the border, to use physical force to prevent illegal entry and trafficking, and to deport illegal aliens to Mexico or to their nations of origin.
3.) The Texas Legislature should require the use of E-Verify by all employers in Texas to protect jobs for legal workers by preventing the hiring of illegal aliens.
4.) The Texas Legislature should end all subsidies and public services, including in-state college tuition and enrollment in public schools, for illegal aliens.
5.) Texas urges the United States Congress not to grant any form of amnesty or a pathway to legalization for illegal aliens.
6.) The Texas Legislature should prohibit the deployment of the Texas National Guard to a foreign conflict unless Congress first formally declares war.
7.) The Texas Legislature should establish authority within the Texas State Comptroller’s office to administer access to gold and silver through the Texas Bullion Depository for use as legal tender.
8.) The State of Texas should ensure that Texans are free to give or to withhold consent for any vaccine without coercion.
9.) The Republican Party of Texas should restrict voting in the Republican Primary to only registered Republicans.
10.) The Texas Constitution should be amended to restore authority to the Texas Attorney General to prosecute election crimes.
11.) Texas parents and guardians should have the right to select schools, whether public or private, for their children, and the funding should follow the student.
12.) The Texas Constitution should be amended to require proof of citizenship before any individual can be registered to vote.
13.) Texas should ban the sale of Texas land to citizens, governments, and entities from China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia.
DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY
County Races
Bosque County Chair: Micah Hutson
Hill County Commissioner, Precinct 3: Pollyanna Thibodeau
State Races
State Representative, District 13: Albert Hunter
Railroad Commissioner: Bill Burch, Katherine Culbert
Justice, Supreme Court, Place 2: Randy Sarosdy, DaSean Jones
Justice, Supreme Court, Place 4: Christine Vinh Weems
Justice, Supreme Court, Place 6: Joe Pool, Bonnie Lee Goldstein
Presiding Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals: Holly Taylor
Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 7: Nancy Mulder
Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 8: Chika Anyiam
Federal Races
President: Joseph R. Biden Jr., Armando “Mando” Perez-Serrato, Frankie Lozada, Dean Phillips, Gabriel A Cornejo, Marianne Williamson, Star Locke, Cenk Uygur (Note: Williamson had dropped out of the race as of press time.)
United States Senator: Carl Oscar Sherman, Roland Gutierrez, Heli Rodriguez Prilliman, A. “Robert” Hassan, Mark Gonzalez, Steven J. Keough, Thierry Tchenko, Colin Allred, Meri Gomez
United States Representative, District 31 (Bosque County): Brian Walbridge, Stuart Whitlow, Rick Von Pfeil
United States Representative, District 6 (Hill County): John Love III
The Lakelander 