2024 Election: What's on the ballot in Hays County?

HAYS COUNTY, Texas - While all eyes on November 5 are on the presidential race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, in Hays County, there are a few races people are keeping an eye on.

Early voting is already underway. Here's what you need to know.

RELATED: Where to Vote: Hays County early voting locations

Below is a look at the candidates and who's running in contested elections. Click on the candidate's name to get more information.

There are also propositions on the ballot for cities and school districts.

Countywide Elections

Hays County Sheriff

Judge, County Court-at-Law 3

Robert E. Updegrove
Elaine S. Brown (incumbent)

District Clerk

County Commissioner, Pct. 3

Constable, Pct. 2

David L. Saenz Sr
Michael Torres (incumbent)

Proposition A

Hays County has called for a road bond election, asking for $439,634,000 to address substandard roadways to improve safety and increase capacity.

The bond focuses on projects already in the planning process to ensure continuity of projects and include shovel-ready projects, according to the county.

The 2024 Road Bond would add a total of $0.02 per $100 valuation to the county tax rate, which is recommended at $0.35 per $100 valuation.

City Elections

City of Austin

Mayor

City of Kyle

City Council, District 5

Courtney Goza
Marc McKinney
Melisa Medina

City of San Marcos

Mayor

Jane Hughson (incumbent)
Juan Miguel Arredondo

City Council, Place 5

Roland Saucedo
Atom Von Arndt
Griffin Spell
Lorenzo Gonzalez

City Council, Place 6

Amanda Rodriguez
Maraya Dunn

City of Woodcreek

City Council members (vote for none, one, two, or three)

Russell Scott
Gloria Whitehead
Linnea Bailey
Chrys Grummert
Eric Eskelund
William Scheel

School Districts

Blanco ISD

Blanco ISD has called for a VATRE election for November.

The district says it is facing a $1.2 million budget deficit for the 2024-25 school year.

If the VATRE is approved in November, BISD would generate approximately $400,000 annually. In addition to these local funds, an approved VATRE would generate approximately $28,000 of funding from the state.

The district says that while those funds would not eliminate the deficit, they would be used for teacher and staff incentives, maintaining current class sizes, and retaining student programs.

If a VATRE is approved by the voters in November, the district’s maintenance and operations (M&O) tax rate would increase by 2 cents.

The funds generated if the VATRE passes are exempt from recapture, ensuring that none of these funds will be returned to the state.

Learn more about Blanco ISD's VATRE here.

San Marcos CISD

San Marcos CISD has called for a VATRE.

The district says that the board adopted a $17.2 million budget deficit for the 2024–25 school year. Over the last six years, funding for educational expenses has not kept up with inflation.

The district also noted the state legislature did not approve any additional per-student funding this past session and there are new state mandates that also did not come with additional funding.

SMCISD says that if passed, the VATRE would generate an additional $2.8 million not subject to recapture which would be used for additional teacher and staff compensation.

If passed, the total tax rate would increase to $1.0152 per $100 valuation, an increase of .024 from last year. If rejected, the tax rate would still increase to $0.9952 per $100 valuation, an increase of .004 from last year.

Learn more about San Marcos CISD's VATRE here.