28-04-2025
Why Local Elections Matter: Your Voice, Your Community
Waco, TX (FOX 44) — Early voting is underway across Texas, and local officials urge residents to seize this opportunity to shape their communities.
Local elections have influence over our daily lives, whether we realize it or not.
'At the local level, it's your voice versus just maybe a few hundred, maybe a few thousand, versus, like, at the federal level where it's your voice versus millions,' McLennan County Elections Administrator Jared Goldsmith said. 'You really get a say as to how things are run at the local level.'
Goldsmith says it's a privilege to vote – because in many countries people don't get to vote for local leaders.
'At the local level, they're the ones who decide what to do with your tax dollars,' Goldsmith said. 'Go out and make sure that your voice is heard. Get educated, find out more about these candidates.'
In Killeen, Proposition B is on the ballot. If passed, property taxes will increase and new city facilities will be authorized for construction, using your money to fund the projects.
'It's going to be something that's going to benefit you, whether you have a child in school or not,' Killeen Executive Director of Communications and Marketing Janell Ford said. 'It's going to benefit you in the long run through all of the services that are provided by each of those entities, because they're not just providing education at KISD. So in the end it impacts everyone.'
In several ways, voting is a civic duty and a way to exercise your influence as a member of your community.
'You're coming to City Council meetings when you can, you're joining boards, commissions, committees because we need people to join,' Ford said. 'We have more than two dozen of those, whether it's in the Animal Services or the Planning and Zoning. We need people to join those and help influence decisions that are made that go to our City Council representative.'
Voting is the best way to get involved in your local community and voice your opinions on change.
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