Early voting for city, Texas Constitutional Amendments begins Monday
Apr. 25—Early voting will run from Monday, April 25 through Tuesday, May 3, and is being held 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, at the Anderson County Courthouse Annex, 703 N Mallard, with extended hours to be determined, if applicable.
The deadline to apply for a ballot by mail is Tuesday, April 26. The last day to receive ballots by mail is Saturday, May 7.
There are five candidates on the May 7 ballot for Mayor of the City of Palestine, they are Vickey L. Chivers, Justin Florence, Ava Harmon, Mitchell Jordan and Alex Nemer.
The two candidates for District 5 City Councilmember were Krissy Clark and Jason H. Chapman. However, Chapman has officially withdrawn from the race based on personal reasons. Since the ballots had been ordered and printed prior to his withdrawal, Chapman's name will still appear on the ballot.
The elections for District 1 and District 3 were cancelled Feb. 22, since Sean Conner and Vickey L. Chivers are the loan candidates, respectively, for these positions.
The May 7 election will include two statewide Constitutional Amendments and the City of Palestine General and Special Elections, held jointly.
Passed during the second special legislative session, the two statewide amendments focus on property taxes.
The first sets a lower property tax rate for elderly and disabled homeowners.
Because those 65 and older or disabled residents have a cap on their school property taxes, they did not benefit from the 2019-passed property tax reductions. This amendment would allow those individuals to also benefit from the lower tax rates.
To account for loss in revenue property tax income, the state would then be required to reimburse public school districts, per a law passed along with the proposed amendment.
The second amendment seeks to increase the amount of the residence homestead exemption in public school taxes from $25,000 to $40,000.
Currently, local taxing entities such as cities, counties and school districts collect property taxes and set tax rates with the largest portion typically going to school districts. But property tax relief does not guarantee a lower tax bill.
These amendments are part of the Texas legislature's continued push in addressing rising property taxes with some even vowing to eventually rid them all together. But with rising property values, some experts say the impact is not as great.
In order for amendments to be ratified, the proposal needs a two-thirds vote of the full membership of the state legislature. Then a simple majority of registered voters in favor of the changes moves the proposal to ratification.
For more election information, contact Casey Brown at 903-723-7438.
