Election day has arrived for the Nov. 5 general election, and eligible Hays County voters can begin voting on state, federal, county, city and school board elections, along with local propositions.

In early voting, which took place from Oct. 21 to Nov. 1, nearly 56% of registered voters cast their ballots. There are 186,492 registered voters in Hays County, and—as of Nov. 4—103,988 people voted early, according to data from the Hays County Elections Office.

At the polls: Hays County has dozens of polling places registered voters can go to for both early voting and Election Day, which are listed on the county’s website. Registered voters in Hays County can vote at any location in the county from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. A map showing estimated wait times at polling locations on Nov. 5 will be available here when polls open.

Use the sidebar of the map below to see early voting polling locations.



Voters should bring one of seven approved forms of identification to the polls. A list of acceptable identification can be found here.

On the ballot

Hays County, San Marcos, Buda, Kyle and San Marcos CISD have several propositions and elected positions on the November ballot.

Hays County residents will have the opportunity to vote on the 2024 Hays County Transportation Program—a $440 million transportation bond—on Nov. 5

If approved, the bond will fund the construction, design and right of way needed for 35 transportation projects across the county. The plan focuses on projects that will enhance safety, mobility and regional connectivity in Hays County, county officials said. You can learn more about the proposition through previous Community Impact reporting.

The proposition has been met with some resistance from community members with four Hays County property owners filing a lawsuit in district court against the county’s 2024 road bond Oct. 24. The property owners are asking commissioners to appoint a bond advisory committee to shape the bond package and bring back a bond proposal supported by public input for a vote in May or November 2025, according to a news release cited in previous reporting by Community Impact.

San Marcos CISD officials have decided to place a voter-approval tax rate election, or VATRE, on the Nov. 5 general election ballot. The VATRE was called in an effort to help offset the district’s nearly $18 million budget shortfall for the 2024-25 fiscal year, according to previous reporting by Community Impact.

A VATRE is required when a school board adopts a tax rate that exceeds the district’s voter-approval tax rate, according to the Texas Association of School Business Officials.

The following list shows contested races throughout Hays County. List order was determined by the Hays County sample ballot. Read Q&A's from local candidates and previous Community Impact coverage by clicking on the links below:

* indicates incumbent

Federal elections

President

• Donald J. Trump (R)
• Kamala D. Harris (D)
• Chase Oliver (L)
• Jill Stein (G)

U.S. Senate

• Ted Cruz* (R)
• Colin Allred (D)
• Ted Brown (L)

U.S. representative, District 21

• Chip Roy* (R)
• Kristin Hook (D)
• Bob King (L)

U.S. representative, District 35

• Steven Wright (R)
• Greg Casar* (D)

State elections

Texas railroad commissioner

• Christi Craddick* (R)
• Katherine Culbert (D)
• Hawk Dunlap (L)
• Eddie Espinoza (G)

Texas Supreme Court justice, Place 2

• Jimmy Blacklock* (R)
• DaSean Jones (D)

Texas Supreme Court justice, Place 4

• John Devine* (R)
• Christine Vinh Weems (D)

Texas Supreme Court Justice, Place 6

• Jane Bland* (R)
• Bonnie Lee Goldstein (D)
• J. David Roberson (L)

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, presiding judge

• David J. Schenck (R)
• Holly Taylor (D)

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 7

• Gina Parker (R)
• Nancy Mulder* (D)

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 8

• Lee Finley (R)
• Chika Anyiam (D)

Texas Senate, District 25

• Donna Campbell* (R)
• Merrie Fox (D)

Texas House, District 45

• Tennyson G. Moreno (R)
• Erin Zwiener* (D)

Texas House, District 73

• Carrie Isaac* (R)
• Sally Duval (D)

Justice, 3rd Court of Appeals District, Place 2

• John Messinger (R)
• Maggie Ellis (D)

Judge, District 483

• Tanner Neidhardt* (R)
• Alicia Key (D)

Local elections

Hays County judge, Court-at-Law Number 3

• Robert E. Updegrove (R)
• Elaine S. Brown (D)

Hays County district clerk (unexpired term)

• Philip Muzzy (R)
• Amanda K. Calvert (D)

Hays County sheriff

• Anthony Hipolito Jr. (R)
• Alex Villalobos (D)

Hays County commissioner, Precinct 3

• Morgan Hammer (R)
• Rebecca Minnick (D)

Hays County constable, Precinct 2

• David L. Sáenz Sr. (R)
• Michael Torres* (D)

Hays County Proposition A: The city will issue $439,634,000 in bonds to build, maintain, and operate roads. A tax will be levied to pay off the bonds and interest.

Kyle City Council, District 5

• Courtney Goza
• Marc McKinney
• Melisa Medina

San Marcos mayor

• Jane Hughson*
• Juan Miguel Arredondo

San Marcos City Council, Place 5

• Roland Saucedo
• Atom Von Arndt
• Griffin Spell
• Lorenzo Gonzalez

San Marcos City Council, Place 6

• Amanda Rodriguez
• Maraya Dunn

Austin Community College board of trustees, Place 7

• Sherri Lynn Taylor
• Cole Wilson

Austin Community College board of trustees, Place 9

• Joe Sefton
• Julie Ann Nitsch*

San Marcos CISD Proposition A: The district is proposing an ad valorem tax rate of $1.015200 per $100 valuation for the current year. This rate will lead to a 1.3% increase in maintenance and operations tax revenue compared to the previous year, resulting in an additional $851,078 for the district.

Community Impact will continue to cover Hays County elections and provide election night coverage, final results and more.