The General Election will occur on Nov. 3. For eligible voters, Oct. 23 is the deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot. For in-person voters, the Texas Retired Teachers Association (TRTA) is encouraging its members to follow all safety guidelines. Additionally, it’s recommended that members vote early to avoid long lines.
Mark Your Calendars!
• October 23, 2020 — Vote by mail application due
• October 13-30, 2020 — Early Voting
• November 3, 2020 • 7:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. — Election Day
Candidate Research Resources
In a presidential year, all eyes are on the top of the ticket, but down ballot elections really matter for the TRTA legislative agenda. TRTA hosted two town hall meetings via Zoom last week. One meeting was with U.S. Senator John Cornyn. The other meeting was with MJ Hegar, who is running for Cornyn’s seat.
TRTA is urging its members to research down the ballot candidates. The state races are of particular importance, as the Texas Legislature is responsible for making decisions about the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) pension plan and TRS-Care. The best way to research candidates is to talk to your friends and colleagues and/or ask the candidates themselves and go to their websites and social media pages.
Texas League of Women Voters Guide / Vote 411
The voter’s guide provides information on statewide candidates from President to a State Board of Education. Vote411.org is personalized to your location and shows you the candidates on your ballot by your address. There are also some videos of candidate forums conducted in various districts across the state on this site.
Teachthevote.org
This page includes surveys, voting records, and other candidate information regarding public education and TRS issues for all state House and Senate races in Texas, as well as a State Board of Education. This resource is strictly related to Texas public education issues.
Raise Your Hand Texas
Raise Your Hand Texas is sponsoring some candidate forums around the state, go here to find one near you. These will be focused on public education issues and funding.
Making Your Decision
As you make your choices about your elected leaders, we hope these non-partisan resources are helpful and insightful. TRTA encourages you to include our legislative priorities and strengthening Texas public education system for our children as major factors in your decision-making process.
El Línea interior will continue to share resources each week on how, when, and where to vote.
¡Gracias!
Thank you for being a member of TRTA and supporting issues that affect retired Texas public school personnel. If you’re not a member already, join us today. We hope all of our members are doing well and making their voting plans now! Please stay safe, and either vote by mail or make a plan to vote during the early voting period and avoid long lines and big crowds. Stay tuned to the Línea interior for additional information as we get closer to the election.
