Register to Vote by October 7th!

If you haven't registered to vote, there is still time, but not much! There are several Constitutional Amendments that will be voted on in November as well as a City of Waxahachie Charter Amendment! 
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I'd like to take a moment to first discuss the proposed City Charter amendment.  If approved, this would be the first amendment to our City's charter. Here's how I see it:

1) I asked about having the position of the Mayor voted outright by the citizens and adding another Council position as part of this, but that request was denied.  (Currently, residents select their councilmembers and then the Council elects the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem from among themselves.)

2) This amendment would create non-geographical places on the Council.  People who would like to run, would then pick a place to run for and get their petitions signed for that place. I've asked that we be assigned places, if this goes through, and was told no.  That we were not elected to places, even though the place number means nothing, so we will not be assigned places. 

3)  A person running for each place would have to get a 50% or more majority vote in order to win the election.  In my opinion, this favors people that have money, because if nobody wins by a majority, then those candidates running for that place have to pursue a runoff.  Currently, we run by a plurality system which means that whoever gets the most votes wins.  As in almost all of our past  elections, nobody has won with a 50% margin, so let's say people are wanting to get a particular candidate out of office, all they really have to do is saturate that place (have a bunch of people run for it) and you almost guarantee a run off will happen.

4) I am personally against this proposed amendment.  I think it will create more divisiveness and tensions in the community and that's NOT something that we need.  I think it works in favor of a good ol' boy system and I'm not for that.

5) The amendment was originally just going to be for places and that was okay, but changing to places WITH a majority system, just doesn't seem like a great idea to me.

If the measure does pass in November, it will be another 2 years before any charter amendments can be made.  Our charter is a wonderful document, but it does need to have some revisions.  It has served Waxahachie from its inception, but we have grown so much that we definitely need some changes.  I would ask that this amendment not be passed at this time, but as part of a comprehensive charter change that would result from a group tasked with effort, who have a lot of public participation on the matter.

Here is a link to the ordinance, in case these pictures are illegible. Ordinance 3131 Calling Election for City Charter Amendment

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Here is information on how to register to vote in Ellis County and how you can change your address on your voter registration online (if you moved within Ellis County!):Ellis County Voter Registration, Address Change and More!
  

This is an actual sample ballot for those who live in the City of Waxahachie, with the verbiage for the charter amendment as well as the proposed Constitutional amendments: Sample Ballot for: City of Waxahachie Charter Amendment and Texas State Constitutional Amendments November 2019





This link is to the Ellis County Elections website where you can see what YOUR particular ballot will look like even if it isn't in Waxahachie: Link to Sample Ballots for November 2019

On the Ellis County Elections website, they also have a link to a thorough explanation of each proposed state Constitutional Amendment.  It is 27 pages, so it takes a bit of time, but should help one navigate the ballot verbiage.:Full text of Texas State Constitutional Amendments to be voted on November 5, 2019