Reminder: You aren't just voting for President on November 4th

I've spent hours and hours researching to make the best decision I can for the presidential election.  Then, I received my Texas absentee ballot, and was shockingly reminded that there are 28 other decisions to be made on the ballot.  Some of them are equally important as the presidential.

Now most of us remember that there are state and local elections on the ballot when we are in the voting booth and either one of two actions are taken:  you vote straight party (what I did the last two elections), or don't vote for the other offices.  Thanks to voting reform in the 1890's, we have today split ticket ballots allowing us to make good educated votes.

For my fellow Texans, we have some key positions on the ballot:

• US Senate
  John Cornyn - Republican (Incumbent)
  Rick Noriega - Democrat
  Yvonne Schick - Libertarian
• US House - District 21 (This one may differ depending on your district)
  Lamar Smith - Republican
  James Strohm - Libertarian
• Railroad Commissioner (nothing to do with the RR, but manages all oil and gas commerce in the state)
  Michael Williams - Republican
  Mark Thompson - Democrat
  David Floyd - Libertarian
• Chief Justice - Texas Supreme Court
  Wallace Jefferson - Republican
  Jim Jordan - Democratic
  Tom Oxford - Libertarian

So, I've made it even easier for you by providing links to the campaign web sites for the above candidates.  However, you can obtain a great deal of additional information as well as area specific ballot selections by going to votesmart.org and entering your zip code.

Remember, you can vote early in Texas.  Happy Voting!