Dear editor:

Early voting for the March 5 election has started. Proposition 11 is presented as “School Choice” that would allow any student to attend any school they choose and the school tax dollars to follow. It is nothing more than Governor Abbott’s veiled personnel agenda to pass a school voucher system to fund parochial and private schools.

Currently all of the $4.5 billion school tax money goes only to the 5.5 million students in public schools. If passed, this proposition will fund the 5.5 million public school students and the 1.64 million students in parochial schools and the 331 thousand students in private schools.(2023 numbers).

That would take 34.5% of the school tax money that currently goes to the public schools and divert it to the parochial and private schools. Our public schools are already hurting for money to operate.

Further, Texas student achievement test scores have been falling over the last 5-6 years and any loss of tax dollars will only further hurt our public-school education system.

I have no problem with parents sending their kids to parochial or private schools, but that is a choice that we, the rest of the population, should not have to subsidize. I urge you to vote “No” on proposition 11.

Ted Levitt

Alba

Editor’s note:

The propositions on the ballot are essentially straw polls by the party and do not represent changes in the law. That would require action from the state legislature.

Dear editor:

For those of you who have already voted early this year you know about the changes to the voting process in Wood County; for those that haven’t yet, please read further.

Due to the changes pushed through regarding ‘paper ballots’ and replacement of outdated election machines, only two machines, per political party, are allocated during early voting. This has resulted in those who prefer the electronic machine process to wait in long lines and experience unnecessary confusion and delays.

On Thursday of early voting we arrived at 11a.m., normally a slow period, and discovered there were 10 individuals attempting to vote in the GOP primary.

Of the 10 voters when we arrived, two were already on the electronic machines, and they would remain there, combing through the lengthy ballot proposals for nearly 10 minutes.

Those remaining eight individuals indicated their preference for electronic machine versus paper ballot, choosing electronic machines 6-to-2. However, being bunched up and after waiting for those two machines to come available, several returned to the check-in table and requested paper ballots so they would not be kept waiting. 

Due to the decision of the local GOP committee, demanding separate primaries and separate polls workers, the Democratic poll workers had little to do and their machines weren’t being utilized the entire time we were there.

I called the Wood County Elections Office Monday morning and was told by staff there would be only one electronic machine per party on the March 5 Election Day.

This means that you and those who you know who want to vote in this year’s primary will be subjected to very long lines and may become discouraged or frustrated and go home without the opportunity to vote for the candidates of their choice.

Please spread the word to vote early this week if you want to minimize the unnecessary long lines and have the best chance for your voice to be heard.

Greg Hollen

Mineola