If you have not voted already and are looking for information for your county/precinct, the following may be of some assistance.
To find a sample ballot and voting locations, you can do an internet search for your county’s voting office. For instance, the links for Potter and Randall Elections Office are posted below:
Sample Ballots | Potter County Elections Administration | Amarillo (pottercountyvotes.com)
Sample Ballot | Randall County, TX
You will find your ballot broken down by precinct as well as county and party.
10 Propositions on the Republican Ballot (There are no Propositions listed on the Democrat Ballot)
Regarding the 10 Propositions listed on the Republican ballot, remember that if you agree with the wording of the Proposition, you should vote YES. The Propositions are an opinion poll of Republican voters; you are NOT voting for an actual referendum. You can find the list of propositions on your sample ballot.
There are several state-wide races where I am not familiar with all the candidates. Therefore, I am providing a couple of resources for your review. If you have information supporting or contradicting any of the following recommendations, please leave info in the comments section. It helps us all be better informed to share information!!!
Texas Values Scorecard
The 2021 Faith & Family Scorecard is a legislative scorecard based on the 87th Texas Legislative Session that measures how state legislators performed on issues impacting faith and families. The scorecard uses important legislative activity, including votes and bill sponsorships (authorship/co-authorship), on core issues including religious freedom, marriage & family, and life.
2021 Faith & Family Scorecard | Texas Values ActionTexas Values Action (txvaluesaction.org)
Statewide Candidate Recommendations
Governor – I have several concerns regarding Gov. Abbott, primarily his efforts to centralize power in Austin prior to and during COVID-19. Additionally, his failure to recall the legislature to codify his Executive Order banning vaccine mandates in the state of Texas further eroded my support. Don Huffines is probably best positioned to challenge Abbott, and if the other candidates combine to keep Abbott below 50% of the vote, we could see a run-off.
Lt. Gov. – Dan Patrick
Attorney General – Ken Paxton is VERY strong on efforts to oppose the Biden administration but was indicted on securities fraud charges in 2015, and his case still hasn’t gone to trial. More recently, he’s come under federal investigation over allegations of bribery and abuse of office. Louie Gohmert is a great conservative option if looking for a candidate without the legal troubles.
The following statewide recommendations come from Donna Gardner, a political/educational activist and classroom teacher for 33+ years. I have followed Ms. Gardner as a resource for many years and have found her to be very accurately informed and knowledgeable. The following recommendations are HERS, not mine, but I do consider them valuable guidelines. You can learn more about Ms. Gardner and her views/background, especially on education at Education News (educationviews.org)
Compt. Of Public Accounts – Glenn Hegar
Comm. of General Land Office – Dawn Buckingham
Comm. of Agriculture – James White
Railroad Comm. – Wayne Christian
Justice, Supreme Court, Place 3 – Debra Lehrmann
Justice, Supreme Court, Place 5 – Rebeca Huddle
Justice, Supreme Court, Place 9 – Evan Young
Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 2 – Mary Lou Keel
Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 5 – Clint Morgan
Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 6 – Jesse F. McClure, III
Texas State Board of Education
In Potter and Randall counties, we will be voting on a Texas State Board of Education representative for District 15. Here are comments by Ms. Gardner regarding the two candidates for this position.
SBOE DISTRICT 15 (Panhandle, Plains, and Permian Basin):
The Republican incumbent is Jay Johnson. However, I am recommending Aaron Kinsey for this SBOE position.
My problem with Jay Johnson is that he was totally unprepared to vote on the Health Education textbooks because he had not read the important information in those textbooks to verify exactly how the SBOE-adopted Health Ed standards were being covered (or not covered).
I also had real concerns when Jay Johnson voted to veto Heritage Classical Charter (Hillside College Barney school curriculum). Instead, Jay voted to approve Essence Prep which has been in the news recently because of concerns over CRT ( https://www.texastribune.org/2022/01/06/critical-race-theory-charter-school/?utm_source=articleshare&utm_medium=social ).
The good news is that Aaron Kinsey is a great candidate for the SBOE. He is an Air Force veteran, graduated at the top of his class at Texas A&M University (accounting and finance degrees), was in the Corp of Cadets, flew 120 combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, attended Harvard Business School, returned to Midland, Texas where he established his own business which is the largest aerial patrol service in the Permian Basin area for over 70 oil companies.
Aaron and his wife have three young children, and he has committed to fight on the SBOE to keep parents in charge of their children’s lives and education – free from government interference and Critical Race Theory.
Aaron is a logical thinker, a proven conservative, a smart businessman, a finance/accounting guru, and is committed to spending the time necessary to serve on the SBOE.
All-Important Tex. SBOE Races: Who Are the Candidates? | Education News (educationviews.org)
Additions
As stated previously, this is not an exhaustive list. I have tried to focus on providing information for those state-wide races that are more difficult and time consuming to research. For local races, it is typically voting for people that are from our community where there is more available information and opinions. You are encouraged to leave information on who you are supporting and why you are supporting them in the comments section below. But regardless . . . VOTE!!!!!
