Early voting begins Oct. 21 for Nov. 5 general election

Sample Ballots

Posted Thursday, October 17, 2024 10:48 am

WHERE TO VOTE ON ELECTION DAY

1 & 15 Randle-Rather Building

427 St. George St., Gonzales, TX 78629

2 Emmanuel Fellowship & School

1817 St. Lawrence St., Gonzales, TX 78629

3 City Hall Gonzales

820 St. Joseph, Gonzales, TX 78629

4&6 City Hall Nixon

302 E. Central, Nixon, TX 78140

5 Belmont Community Center

14335 HWY 90A W, Gonzales, TX 78629

7 Elks Hospital

1963 FM 1586

8 Harwood Community Center

101 CR 230 N, Harwood, TX 78632

9 Waelder City Hall

300 Hwy 90 W, Waelder, TX 78959

10 Smiley Fire Station

208 N FM 108, Smiley, TX 78159

11 Peach Valley Camp

582 CR 357, Gonzales, TX 78629

12 Riverside Community Center

200 St. Lawrence St., Gonzales, TX 78629

13 Leesville Cemetery Asso.

6077 CR 155, Leesville, TX 78122

14 Cheapside Community Center

18 CR 297A, Cheapside, TX

Early voting locations and times

Randle-Rather Building, 427 St. George St., Gonzales.

Nixon Community Building, 302 E. Central, Nixon.

Waelder City Hall, 300 Highway 90 W., Waelder.

8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 21-25.

7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26

9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 27

7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 28-Nov. 1

By LEW K. COHN, Inquirer Publisher

Early voting for the Nov. 5 general election begins this coming Monday, Oct. 21 and will continue through Friday, Nov. 1.

There are three main locations for early voting in Gonzales County. The primary location is the Randle-Rather Building, 427 St. George St., Gonzales. Additional locations include Nixon Community Building, 302 E. Central, Nixon, and Waelder City Hall, 300 Highway 90 W., Waelder.

Early voting locations will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 21-25. Extended hours are available from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 27. During the last week of early voting, from Oct. 28-Nov. 1, polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Election Day voting will be held Tuesday, Nov. 5, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at various locations throughout Gonzales County. Those locations can be found on Page 11.

Gonzales County races

The only contested county race on the ballot is for Gonzales County Sheriff, where incumbent Keith Schmidt, a Republican, will face off against challenger and former chief deputy Clay Allen, a Democrat.

All other county races feature unopposed Republican candidates, including 25^th District Judge (Bill Old), 2^nd 25^th District Judge (Jessica Richard Crawford), County Attorney (Eduardo “Eddie” Xavier Escobar), County Tax Assessor-Collector (Crystal Cedillo), Precinct 1 County Commissioner (Anton W. “Tony” Matias), Precinct 3 County Commissioner (Roy A. Staton), Precinct 1 Constable (Johnnie Hall), Precinct 3 Constable (Derek Johnson) and Precinct 4 Constable (John J. Moreno).

There is also a special Voter Approval Tax Rate Election (VATRE) being held for voters in Yoakum ISD (for the portion which comes into Gonzales County) to approve the ad valorem tax rate because the adopted rate exceeds the YISD Voter-Approval Tax Rate.

The district is seeking to set an ad valorem tax rate of $1.00059 for the current year, which will result in a 1.66 percent increase in the maintenance and operations tax revenue for the district for an additional $857,208. If the election fails, the district must quickly convene a school board meeting to adopt a tax rate that aligns with the voter-approval tax rate and amend the budget accordingly.

State races (regional)

The House District 44 State Representative race will feature Republican Alan Schoolcraft against Democrat Eric Norman. Schoolcraft unseated incumbent Rep. John Kuempel in a hotly contested runoff earlier this year.

The 13^th Court of Appeals, which oversees cases in Gonzales County, has four races on the ballot. For Chief Justice, Republican Jaime Tijerina will face off against Democrat Gina Benavides to succeed incumbent Dori Contreras. Tijerina is currently the Place 4 Justice while Benavides is the Place 5 Justice. As such, both of their seats are up for grabs this year.

In Place 4, Republican Ysmael D. Fonseca will face off against Democrat Joe Martinez, while in Place 5, Republican Jon West will battle Democrat Regi Compian Richardson. In Place 2, Republican Jenny Cron is challenging incumbent Democrat Nora Longoria.

Finally, on the State Board of Education, incumbent Democrat Marisa B. Perez-Diaz is running unopposed for her District 3 seat.

Statewide races

One statewide race with multiple candidates is for Railroad Commissioner. Incumbent Republican Christi Craddick will square off against Democrat Katherine Culbert, Libertarian Hawk Dunlap and Green candidate Eddie Espinoza.

Place 2 Supreme Court Justice incumbent Republican Jimmy Blacklock will be challenged by Democrat DeSean Jones. In Place 4, incumbent Supreme Court justice and Republican John Devine will be challenged by Christine Vinh Weems. In Place 5, incumbent Supreme Court justice and Republican Jane Bland faces off against Democrat Bonnie Lee Goldstein.

There will be three new judges on the Court of Criminal Appeals this year, including Chief Justice, where David J. Schenck, the Republican, faces off against Democrat Holly Taylor. Place 7 on the Court sees Republican Gina Parker facing off against Democrat Nancy Mulder. Place 8 has Republican Lee Finley against Democrat Chika Anyiam. All three incumbents were unseated in the GOP Primary.

Federal races

The top federal race has to be for President and Vice President. On the Texas ballot, Republican Donald J. Trump (and J.D. Vance) will face Democrat Kamala Harrris (and Tim Walz). Also in the field are Libertarian Chase Oliver (and Mike ter Maat) and Green candidate Jill Stein (and Rudolph Ware).

The U.S. Senate race has incumbent Republican Sen. Ted Cruz being challenged by Democrat Colin Allred and Libertarian Ted Brown.

Finally, the U.S. House District 27 race has incumbent Rep. Michael Cloud, a Republican, facing off against challenger Tanya Lloyd, a Democrat.