Today is the first day of Early Voting - 10/18/21

All Texas registered voters will be able to vote on the 8 proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution on the November 2nd, 2021 ballot.

Early voting began today, October 18th, and will end on October 29th.

If you are not sure if you are registered to vote, you may check at VoteTexas.Gov. Visit the Am I Registered application on the Texas Secretary of State website.

The Texas Constitution has been amended some 500 times. In order to make changes to the Texas Constitution, a two-thirds supermajority is required in the House and Senate and then voters in the state need to approve the proposals.

In deciding to vote for or against each of these proposed amendments, you should ask yourself three questions:

1. Is it "constitutional"? (Does it support the constitutional republic?)

2. Is there a need? (Do all the People have a need for and benefit from the proposed government intervention?)

3. Affordability? (Can the People afford it? Is the cost equal and uniform?)

To understand why these questions are important, see this explanation: https://ntcl.org/2013/10/13/all-laws-must-pass-the-constitutional-test/

The proposed Constitutional Amendments to be voted on this November 2nd are:

1. Proposition 1 (HJR 143): "The constitutional amendment authorizing the professional sports team charitable foundations of organizations sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association or the Women ’s Professional Rodeo Association to conduct charitable raffles at rodeo venues."

2. Proposition 2 (HJR 99): "The constitutional amendment authorizing a county to finance the development or redevelopment of transportation or infrastructure in unproductive, underdeveloped, or blighted areas in the county."

3. Proposition 3 (SJR 27) (Co-Authored by Senator Paxton): "The constitutional amendment to prohibit this state or a political subdivision of this state from prohibiting or limiting religious services of religious organizations."

4. Proposition 4 (SJR 47): "The constitutional amendment changing the eligibility requirements for a justice of the supreme court, a judge of the court of criminal appeals, a justice of a court of appeals, and a district judge."

5. Proposition 5 (HJR 165): "The constitutional amendment providing additional powers to the State Commission on Judicial Conduct with respect to candidates for judicial office."

6. Proposition 6 (SJR 19): "The constitutional amendment establishing a right for residents of certain facilities to designate an essential caregiver for in-person visitation."

7. Proposition 7 (HJR 125): "The constitutional amendment to allow the surviving spouse of a person who is disabled to receive a limitation on the school district ad valorem taxes on the spouse ’s residence homestead if the spouse is 55 years of age or older at the time of the person’s death."

8. Proposition 8 (SJR 35) (Joint-Authored by Senator Paxton): "The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to provide for an exemption from ad valorem taxation of all or part of the market value of the residence homestead of the surviving spouse of a member of the armed services of the United States who is killed or fatally injured in the line of duty.”

Additional information on the constitutional amendments is available at the Texas Legislative Council website.

Several organization have provided their recommendations to whether these amendments should pass or fail. For example, you can go to www.NTCL.org (North Texas Citizens Lobby) or texaseagleforum.com (Texas Eagle Forum Constitutional Amendments 2021 pdf). Our State Representative Reggie Smith also sent out a newsletter on each of the amendments. Explanations can be found on the Grayson County GOP website https://graysongop.org along with Election Day Vote Centers and Early Voting Locations.