Election delayed until Nov. 3

By Kathy Thomson

The Shackelford County hospital district board of directors met for a short seven-minute phone conference at noon on Monday, April 6, with one item on the agenda at the special meeting.

“The state sent us an email advising us that we had to postpone the May 2 election until Nov. 3, as per Governor Abbott’s instructions,” said district secretary Regina Whitt.

The motion to postpone the election was made by Janna Ledbetter and seconded by Leslie Belcher.

Also approving the motion were directors John Ayers, Myra Hise, Mike Folsom, and Chris Beard.

“The candidates filing for election will stay the same, as will the ballot order,” said Whitt. “Mail-in ballots that have already been returned will remain with Morgan Whitley at the school and will be applied to the November election.”

Whitley, the AISD administrative secretary, and Whitt had planned to hold a combined election for both of the local boards. 

“We will be having a regular board meeting later this month,” said hospital district administrator Jera Fairley. “All they did at the special meeting was to postpone the election due to effects of extended COVID-19 regulations on local elections.”

Ballot by mail applicants who stated that they would be out of the county during the voting window will need to reapply for the new election dates if they will still be away.

Applicants for a ballot by mail due to age or physical limitations do not need to reapply.

Current board members will continue to hold their position until new officers are elected and sworn in.