Incumbent, 3 new board members elected
By Donnie A. Lucas
One incumbent and three other candidates from a field of seven were elected to the Shackelford County Hospital Board, along with two statewide constitutional amendments were approved by voters.
Only 202 ballots were cast in the hospital board election, representing about nine percent of the county’s 2,266 registered voters.
Incumbent Myra Hise was elected to another two-year term on the board with a total of 160 votes. Shackelford County Deputy Sheriff Jason Price garned 101 votes, while Albany Chamber manager Mary Beth Jones had a total of 84 votes. The fourth spot was filled by Kayla Herron, who captured 78 voters.
Other candidates and their vote totals were Beth Roysdon with 61, Kraymer Harbold with 52 and Rochelle Stewart with 28.
County/district clerk Cheri Hawkins said that the votes would be canvassed on Friday at the Courthouse, with board members sworn in at the hospital board meeting May 16.
Voters gave the nod to two proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution, echoing the feelings of voters across the state, both passing by margins of more than 90 percent.
Proposition 1, which would reduce property taxes for the disabled and elderly, had 177 votes in favor and 18 against.
The second amendment calls for the homestead exemption for all property owners to be increased from $25,000 to $40,000. The second measure had 182 votes in favor and 16 against.
Primary Run-off
Voters will have the chance to go to the polls for a second time this month with the May 24 State Primary Elections Run-off for both the Republican and Democratic parties.
The deadline to request a ballot by mail is Friday, May 13. Voters who signed up for the annual mail requests application should have already received one automatically.
“Someone who didn’t vote in the March 1 primary elections can choose to vote in either party run-off,” Hawkins said. “Those who did vote are restricted to voting in the run-off for the same party primary they participated in on March 1.”
Voters who voted in person either through early voting or on election day had their voter registration cards stamped with the name of the party ballot they cast. The clerk’s office also kept a record of voters participating in both primaries.
In-person early voting opens on Monday, May 16 and ends on Friday, May 20. All voting will again be consolidated at the county courthouse.
Early voters can mark their ballots from 8:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. throughout the week of May 16-20. The courthouse will also be open through the lunch hour for early voters.
The run-off election day is set for Tuesday, May 24 from 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. The courthouse will be closed to other business that day.
