Early voting underway for May 4 election that includes voting for HCAD members, Whitmire replacement

Early voting for the May 4 election kicked off on Monday, featuring several significant items on the ballot, including the election of three Harris County Appraisal District board members, a first-time occurrence.

These board members oversee the group of appraisers responsible for determining property taxes. The addition of elected seats to HCAD’s board came about following a November ballot proposition aimed at lowering property taxes.

Authored by Republican Houston-area Sen. Paul Bettencourt, the legislation was prompted by widespread complaints about local appraisal districts across the state. The new seats are nonpartisan.

Residents in Senate District 15, which encompasses close to a million people in Harris County, will have the opportunity to decide who will complete the term previously held by now-Houston Mayor John Whitmire.

This is the first time the seat has been open since 1982, with Whitmire serving in the Senate for 40 years before being elected as Houston’s mayor in December. He defeated U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee in a runoff.

In the March primary, Rep. Jarvis Johnson (D-Houston) and emergency room nurse Molly Cook received 36% and 21% of the vote, respectively. They are now set to compete against each other in this election and in a primary runoff on May 28.

Both candidates emphasized the importance of experience and qualifications in filling Whitmire’s shoes, with Johnson highlighting his years of public service and Cook touting her Master’s degree in public health from Johns Hopkins University.

Voters can preview their sample ballots on the Harris Votes website before heading to the polls. Early voting runs until April 30, with voting hours from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and noon to 7 p.m. on Sunday. The deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot is April 23.