Early voting started Oct. 18 and will continue until Oct. 29.  The election itself will take place on Nov. 2.  People wanting to vote early can go to votetexas.org or search the Texas’ Secretary of States web site to find out where to vote in certain counties.  On the ballot are a variety of seats for the United States Legislature, the Texas Legislature and local seats.  The highlight of this race is the gubernatorial election.  If a person is not currently registered to vote, they will not be able to participate in the elections.  For Randall Country residence, early voting will be held at the Randall County Justice Center, the Randall County Annex, Region 16 and the Comache Trail Church of Christ.  Voters need to be sure to have their voter registration card or ID.  For people unable to reach the polling place because of sickness or disability, absentee and mail-in voting is available.  If unable to vote early, visit randallcounty.org to find out where the nearest polling place is.

Governor

Incumbent Rick Perry is seeking reelection.  He has been governor since 2000 when he moved up from Lt. Governor to take over for George W. Bush.  Visit rickperry.org for more information and to see his full platform. Bill White has been elected mayor of Houston two times with victory margins over 85 percent in each election.  Visit billwhitefortexas.org to find out more about his stances on issues. Kathie Glass wants to be the first libertarian governor of Texas.  She has worked as a civil trial attorney for 32 years and currently resides in Houston.  Visit kathie4guv.com for more information about Glass’ stances and plans.  Deb Shafto is currenlty retired and seeking the governorship.  Visit electdebshafto.org to see her complete list of issues.

Local Elections

Incumbent Mac Thornberry is seeking reelection as the U.S. Representative for Texas District 13.  John T. Burwell, Jr. is an insurance contractor.  He is originally from California and moved to Texas in 2005.  Keith Dyer will be on the ballot but may be deemed ineligible after the polls close.  To run as an Independent certain standards of separation from the major political parties must be maintained.  According to Wichita Fall’s Times, Dryer may have violated this separation.