Laredo Morning Times Voter Guide
FAQ
How do I check if I'm registered to vote?
Check your registration status on VoteTexas.org or by contacting your county voter registrar's office.
Can I vote early by mail?
You can vote by mail if you will be away from your county on Election Day and during the hours that early voting is conducted; are sick or disabled; are 65 years of age or older on Election Day; or you are in jail.
How do I request a mail-in ballot? When's my deadline?
Fill out an application for ballot by mail and hand it in to your county elections office. There are several ways of turning it in: Either drop it off in person before the start of early voting, which begins Oct. 13, or mail it according to instructions on the application. Local election officials have to have received your applications by Oct. 23. The application can also be submitted by fax or email, but you'll still have to send it again by mail within four business days.
When is my mail-in ballot due?
Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. is the last day the ballot can be received by mail if the carrier envelope is not postmarked. Nov. 4 is the last day to receive ballot by mail if carrier envelope is postmarked by 7:00 p.m. at the location of the election on Election Day, unless overseas or military voter deadlines apply.
Where do I go to vote in-person?
You can see a list of voting sites for early voting and election day on LMTOnline or via the Webb County Elections Administration Office
Key Dates
Oct. 13
First day of early voting
Oct. 23
Last day to apply for ballot by mail (received, not postmarked)
Oct. 30
Last day of early voting
Nov. 3
Election Day
Nov. 3 at 7 p.m.
Last day to receive ballot by mail if carrier envelope is not postmarked
Nov. 4 at 5 p.m.
Last day to receive ballot by mail if carrier envelope is postmarked by 7:00 p.m. at the location of the election on Election Day, unless overseas or military voter deadlines apply
U.S. President
Biden hopes to be the first Democrat to win Texas since Jimmy Carter in 1976. But President Trump has worked on his ground game in this state for more than a year.
Donald Trump
President Trump's re-election campaign rests on a strong pre-virus economy, income tax cuts and his handling of the COVID-19 crisis.
Joe Biden
Biden, the former VP on his third try for the Oval Office, is building his campaign on a foundation of moderate bipartisan governance and stability.
Howie Hawkins
Hawkins, the Green Party candidate, is a Syracuse, N.Y., resident who has been a political organizer since 1967.
Jo Jorgensen
Jorgensen, the Libertarian candidate, was the party’s vice presidential pick in 1996.
U.S. Senate
Sen. Cornyn faces the strongest challenger he's seen as he seeks his fourth term in the U.S. Senate. But to win, Hegar would need to break a 26-year Democratic slump in Texas statewide elections.
John Cornyn
Sen. Cornyn, a former Texas attorney general, is a top GOP member and close ally of President Donald Trump. He is seeking his fourth term in the Senate.
Mary Jane "MJ" Hegar
Hegar is a political newcomer looking to parlay her inspirational back story of front-line military daring and feminist advocacy into a landscape-rattling upset.
Kerry McKennon
McKennon is vying to be the state’s first openly gay senator. As an actor, he appeared in the sitcom “Arrested Development” before moving home to Texas.
David B. Collins
Collins, the Green party nominee, wants full reproductive choice for women and families, to make public post-secondary schools free and a moratorium on new fossil fuel infrastructure.
U.S. Congress
U.S. House, District 28
Sandra Whitten
Henry Cuellar
Bekah Congdon
State Races
Texas Railroad Commission
The three-member Texas Railroad Commission regulates the state's oil and gas industry. Wright's upset victory in the GOP primary gives Democrats a rare opportunity to win a seat, political analysts say.
James "Jim" Wright
Wright is a rancher and energy business owner whose oil field waste facility was shut down by the agency in 2017. He is calling for reforms and transparency.
Chrysta Castañeda
Castaneda, a former engineer and current oil and gas lawyer, wants to 'stop the waste and abuse of our precious natural resources.'
Matt Sterett
Sterett runs a data business serving oil and gas companies and wants to cut down on gas flaring and simplify industry regulations.
Katija “Kat” Gruene
Gruene, the Green Party candidate, says she wants to be elected so she can 'stand up against' the leaders of 'toxic' fossil fuel industries.
Texas Supreme Court
Republicans hold all nine seats in the Texas Supreme Court, the state's highest civil court. The Texas GOP has not lost a statewide election since 1994.
Chief Justice, Texas Supreme Court
Nathan Hecht
Chief Justice Hecht has served on the Texas Supreme Court since 1989, the longest tenure for a member of the high court in Texas history.
Amy Clark Meachum
Meachum, an Austin district court judge, wants to be the high court's first female Chief Justice. She won 80% of the vote in the March primary.
Mark Ash
Ash is a Houston attorney who has been running as a Libertarian for various judicial positions since 2012.
Texas Supreme Court, Place 6
Jane Bland
Bland was appointed by Gov. Abbott to replace Justice Jeff Brown in 2019 after Brown was named a U.S. district judge.
Kathy Cheng
Cheng, an attorney, won the 2018 Democratic nomination for the same seat. She said she hopes to address the court's 'dire need for diversity.'
Texas Supreme Court, Place 7
Jeff Boyd
Boyd has served on the Texas Supreme Court since 2012. He ran unopposed in the Republican primary.
Staci Williams
Williams, first elected in 2014, created the Citizens’ Civil Academy, a free, non-partisan program that educates Dallas County residents about the civil court system.
William Bryan Strange III
Strange wants to see an end to judicial elections in Texas. In 2012, he garnered 22% of the vote in a Court of Criminal Appeals race, surpassing 1 million votes.
Texas Supreme Court, Place 8
Brett Busby
Judge Busby was appointed by Gov. Abbott to fill a vacancy on the Texas Supreme Court in 2019.
Gisela D. Triana
Triana, now a Texas Court of Appeals judge, pledges that she will 'not put special interests ahead of everyday Texans' if elected to the high court.
Tom Oxford
Oxford says the state's high court needs to have more respect for jury verdicts, and has made too many judgments based on opinion.
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
The state's highest criminal court, the Court of Criminal Appeals, is the proving ground for death penalty appellate cases. All nine judges are Republicans.
Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 3
Bert Richardson
Judge Richardson, elected to the Court of Criminal Appeals in 2014, is a former assistant U.S. attorney who also served in the Bexar County DA's office.
Elizabeth Davis Frizell
Frizell is a former Dallas County Criminal District Court judge who is calling for criminal justice reform.
Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 4
Kevin Patrick Yeary
Judge Yeary, seeking re-election after his first term, is a former prosecutor and defense attorney who once argued cases at the Court of Criminal Appeals
Tina Clinton
Clinton is a Dallas County criminal district court judge with extensive experience on the bench; has served as a prosecutor and defense attorney.
Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 9
David Newell
Judge Newell, a former Fort Bend County prosecutor who is board certified in criminal law and criminal appellate law, seeks his second term on the court.
Brandon Birmingham
Birmingham has worked as a felony prosecutor and cold case unit chief. He's currently a trial judge in the 292nd District Court in Dallas County
Fourth Court of Appeals, Chief Justice
Rebeca Martinez
Renée Yanta
State Board of Education
There are 15 members of the state Board of Education, which sets policies and standards for Texas public schools, including the curriculum and graduation requirements.
State Board of Education, District 1
Jennifer Ivey
Georgina Cecila Perez
Local Races
City Council, District IV
Alberto Torres Jr.
Esmeralda Mellie Hereford
City Council, District V
Nelly Vielma
Ruben Gutierrez Jr.
Celestino Marina
George M. Beckelhymer
Rey Rocha, Jr
City Council, District VII
Priscilla Pantoja
Hector Lee Patiño
J. Carlos Flores
Benigno G. Cepeda
Vanessa Perez
Maria Antonieta Reyes
David Montes
Robert Ortiz
Jose A. Renteria
Betty Flores
David Vazquez
City Council, District VIII
Roberto Balli
Sergio Keko Martinez
Enrique Kike Pantoja
Amber Avis-Hinojosa
Jose Sergio Dorantes
Alyssa C. Cigarroa
Laredo College Board, Place 7
Lino E. Sanchez
Jose R. Villa
Valentin Escamilla
Justin Hundsnurscher Casiano
Ricardo "Rick" Gonzalez
Karina "Kari" Elizondo
Laredo College Board, Place 8
Scott J. Roberts
Jackie L. Ramos
Carlos G. Perez
Laredo College Board, Place 9
Osbaldo "Valdi" Guzman
Feliciano Garcia
Tita Vela
Laredo ISD Board, District 2
Claudia V Balli
Rachel Ibarra
Guadalupe "Lupillo" Gomez
Laredo ISD Board, District 4
James V. Cortez
Ricardo "Rick" Garza
Laredo ISD Board, District 7
David Gonzalez
Monica Garcia
Agapito Perez
United ISD Board, District 1
Ricardo Molina
Florensio "Flow" Calderon
Joe Martinez
United ISD Board, District 4
Ramiro Veliz III
Frank Sciaraffa
Luis Nabor Barajas
Propositions
Proposition A
Shall the City Charter be amended to provide that upon the conviction of a criminal offense, excluding a felony, by the Mayor or a City Council Member, a declaratory judgment action shall be filed with a district court of competent jursidiction to seek a setermination on wheter the crime committed is one involving moral turpitude, and if it is so determined, a recall process shall be automatically triggered?
Proposition B
Shall the City Charter be amended to require the Mayor to execute his/her veto power within the next two regularly scheduled Council Meetings, which may only be overidden at the same meeting?
Proposition C
Shall the City Charter be amended to require any candidate filing an application for place on the ballot to subit a filing fee, or signature petition in lieu of the filing fee, with the City Secretary as prescribed by City Ordinance in accordance with the Texas Election Code?
Proposition D
Shall the City Charter be amended to clarify wheter the Mayor, in addition to individual member of council are excluded from the prohibition against participating in political activity?
Proposition E
Shall the City Charter be amended to provide that any proposed issuance of a bond valued at over 10% of the comprehensive budget, excluding those issued through the Enterprise funds, for capital improvement projects must be approved through a ballot referendum?
Proposition F
Shall the City Charter be amended to provide that the minimum qualifications of the City Manager require a Master's Degree an no less than eight years' experience in government, economic development, or related fields?
Proposition G
Shall the City Charter be amended to provide that the City Tax Assesor and Collector or his or her contracted designee shall be responsible for the assessment and collection of taxes levied by the City of Laredo?
Proposition H
Shall the City Charter be amended to provide that all taxes due by the City of Laredo shall be payable at the office of the City Tax Assessor and Collector, or at one or more other designated locations throughout the City?
Unopposed
Richard Pena Raymond
State Representative, District 42
Beckie Palomo
District Judge, 341st Judicial District
Oscar "O.J" Hale Jr.
District Judge, 406th Judicial District
Isidro R. Alaniz
District Attorney,49th Judicial District
Marco A. Montemayor
Webb County Attorney
Martin Cuellar
Webb County Sheriff
Patricia A. Barrera
Webb County Tax Assessor-Collector
Jesse Gonzalez
County Comissioner, Pct. 1
Juan Paz
Justice of the Peace, Pct. 1 Pl. 1
Rodolfo "Rudy" Rodriguez, Jr.
Constable, Pct. 1
MIguel "Mike" Villarreal
Constable, Pct. 2
Harold Devally
Constable, Pct. 4
Jose A. Valdez
Laredo ISD Board, District 1
Ricardo "Rick" Rodriguez
United ISD Board, District 2