Update (11/5): Today is Election Day and voting locations are different from early voting so make sure and pay close attention to your voting precinct. Polls close at 7 p.m.
- Click here for the Bexar County voting location finder.
- Full list of voting locations is available at: elections.bexar.org/pdf/20131105EDSites.pdf listed numerically by voting precinct.
Update (11/1): Today is the last day of early voting, but if you don't get your vote in at one of the many sites around town (see map at bottom of this page), Election Day is Nov. 5.
Original Post (10/21): It may seem like this Nov. 5 election came out of the blue, but it's here, and early voting starts today. So, dust off that voter registration card and make sure your name matches that of your driver's license or passport -- if you haven't done so already.
- On site and have problems voting? Visit www.gotIDtexas.org to see if your ID is accepted by the state. Acceptable forms of ID include: Drivers license, passport, concealed handgun license and military ID.
The state's voter ID law is in effect, so the name on your voter registration card must exactly match the name on your state-issued ID or passport in order for you to vote. It is just one more check in the voting process, but it also may dissuade people from voting in the constitutional amendment election, which already has a historically dismal voter turnout.
A recent article in the Amarillo Globe-News cites Texas as having the worst voter turnout in the nation in 2010, and also looks at turnout in the last Constitutional Amendment Election:
In the 2011 election, for example, when voters approved seven of 10 constitutional amendments on the ballot, the statewide turnout was 5.37 percent, according to the office of the Texas Secretary of State, which oversees the state’s elections. In the 2009 election, turnout was slightly higher — 8.18 percent — but still significantly lower than in presidential or gubernatorial elections.
There were almost 13 million registered voters in the 2011 election and the 5.37 percent turnout means that just over 690,000 voters decided the outcome. For more turnout numbers from elections past, click here.
Though Prop. 6 -- the much-debated water fund measure -- has received most of the attention in the run up to this election, there are also issues dealing with property taxes for the families of veterans, sanctions on state judges and reverse mortgage loans.
Here are the statewide ballot items that will be decided:
- Authorizes 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 in action.
- Eliminates an obsolete requirement for a State Medical Education Board and a State Medical Education Fund, neither of which is operational.
- Authorizes a political subdivision of this state to extend the number of days that aircraft parts that are exempt from ad valorem taxation due to their location in this state for a temporary period may be located in this state for purposes of qualifying for the tax exemption.
- Authorizes the legislature to provide for an exemption from ad valorem taxation of part of the market value of the residence homestead of a partially disabled veteran or the surviving spouse of a partially disabled veteran if the residence homestead was donated to the disabled veteran by a charitable organization.
- Authorizes the making of a reverse mortgage loan for the purchase of homestead property and to amend lender disclosures and other requirements in connection with a reverse mortgage loan.
- Provides for the creation of the State Water Implementation Fund for Texas and the State Water Implementation Revenue Fund for Texas to assist in the financing of priority projects in the state water plan to ensure the availability of adequate water resources.
- Authorizes a home-rule municipality to provide in its charter the procedure to fill a vacancy on its governing body for which the unexpired term is 12 months or less.
- Repeals Section 7, Article IX, Texas Constitution, which relates to the creation of a hospital district in Hidalgo County.
- Expands the types of sanctions that may be assessed against a judge or justice following a formal proceeding instituted by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct.
All the items on this ballot were first voted on and passed by the legislature, but in accordance with the Texas Constitution must be given final approval or denial by the voters.
Per the Express-News, voters in Castle Hills, Converse, Leon Valley, Olmos Park, Schertz and Windcrest all have additional ballot items to vote on in addition to the amendments.
Early voting is now over and our previous map is no longer of use. Need to know where to vote on Election Day?
- Click here for the Bexar County voting location finder and a
- Full list of voting locations is available at: elections.bexar.org/pdf/20131105EDSites.pdf listed numerically by voting precinct.
