Early Voting Begins Monday in Houston County

By Greg Ritchie

Messenger Reporter

HOUSTON COUNTY — Houston County voters can begin casting ballots Monday, Oct. 19, in an election that includes races for governor and U.S. Senate, a full slate of state and county offices and a school tax proposition for voters in Lovelady Independent School District (LISD).

Early voting will continue through Friday, Oct. 30, at the Houston County Senior Citizen Center, 716 W. Wells St. in Crockett. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.

The early voting schedule includes weekend hours and extended hours during the second week. Voting will be available from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 19–23; 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24; 1–7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 25; and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 26–30.

Applications for a ballot by mail must be received by the early voting clerk by the close of business Friday, Oct. 23.

The countywide ballot includes federal and statewide contests, legislative and judicial races, and 10 unopposed county and precinct candidates. Individual ballots will reflect the districts and precincts in which voters live.

For U.S. Senate, voters will choose among Republican Ken Paxton, Democrat James Talarico and Libertarian Ted Brown. The U.S. House District 10 contest features Republican Chris Gober and Democrat Caitlin Rourk.

The governor’s race includes Republican Greg Abbott, Democrat Gina Hinojosa and Libertarian Pat Dixon. Candidates for lieutenant governor are Republican Dan Patrick, Democrat Vikki Goodwin, Libertarian Anthony Cristo and Green Party candidate Kevin McCormick.

For attorney general, the ballot lists Republican Mayes Middleton, Democrat Nathan Johnson and Libertarian Tom Oxford.

The comptroller’s race includes Republican Don Huffines, Democrat Sarah Eckhardt, Libertarian V. Alonzo Echevarria-Garza and Green Party candidate Shebala Faizi.

Candidates for land commissioner are Republican Dawn Buckingham, Democrat Benjamin Flores and Libertarian Neill Snider. For agriculture commissioner, voters will choose among Republican Nate Sheets, Democrat Clayton Tucker and Libertarian Austin R. Kelly.

The railroad commissioner contest features Republican Bo French, Democrat Jon Rosenthal and Libertarian Arthur DiBianca.

Closer to home, the State Senate District 3 race pits Republican Trent Ashby against Democrat Bobby Tillman. Republican Rocky Thigpen and Democrat Shelley Tatum are seeking the State House District 9 seat.

For State Board of Education District 8, the candidates are Republican Audrey G. Young and Democrat Dana Van De Walker.

Several judicial contests also appear on the ballot.

All county and precinct candidates listed on the sample ballot are Republicans running without opposition.

Jim Lovell is on the ballot for county judge, Josh Liles for County Court at Law judge, Laura Goolsby for district clerk and Terri Meadows for county clerk.

Brittani Womack is seeking the unexpired term as county tax assessor-collector, and Tiffany Harrison-Byers is on the ballot for county treasurer.

The commissioner races list Willie Kitchen in Precinct 2 and Jimmy Henderson in Precinct 4. Mike McCreight is running for justice of the peace in Precinct 1, and Ronnie Jordan is running for justice of the peace in Precinct 2.

Voters who live in LISD will also decide Proposition A, a measure asking them to ratify the district’s property tax rate of $0.6969 per $100 valuation.

The proposition states the rate would produce a 5% increase in maintenance-and-operations tax revenue over the preceding year, providing an additional $409,000. That figure describes the increase in the district’s tax revenue, rather than a uniform 5% increase in individual property tax bills.

Voters with questions about their registration, ballot or polling location can contact Houston County Elections Administrator Cindy Lum’s office at 936-544-3255, ext. 243. Election notices and the full polling-place list are available through the elections section of the county website at www.co.houston.tx.us.

Greg Ritchie can be reached at [email protected]