A description of the offices up for grabs in the current election. Candidates in uncontested races have already been declared elected,
- Brazoria County Sample Ballot.
- Harris County Sample Ballot.
National Office:
U.S. Representative: The House is composed of representatives who, pursuant to the Uniform Congressional District Act, sit in single member congressional districts allocated to each state on a basis of population as measured by the United States Census, with each district having one representative, provided that each state is entitled to at least one. (click here for the map)
State Office (executive)
Governor: The Governor of Texas is the chief executive of the state of Texas and is elected by the citizens every four years. The governor has the power to: sign and veto bills passed by the state legislature, serve as commander-in-chief of the state's military forces, convene special sessions of the legislature, grant reprieves and pardons, and fill vacant positions via appointment. Additionally, the governor is responsible for delivering the "State of the State" address and an annual state budget report and budget recommendation.
Lieutenant Governor: The lieutenant governor, the second-highest state executive, presides over the state Senate. It is often regarded as the most powerful statewide elected office because of its role in the Texas Legislature, Landry said. In the Senate, the lieutenant governor is in charge of the agenda and standing committees and has the deciding word if there’s a tie or a procedural question. This gives the office a lot of influence over senators and power over what bills make it to the governor’s desk.
Attorney General: The attorney general is the state’s top attorney. The office is responsible for representing the state in legal matters, primarily in civil litigation. This can look like defending the state in lawsuits, especially if a case reaches the U.S. Supreme Court. It can also mean bringing forward or participating in lawsuits against the federal government, corporations or others on behalf of the public. The attorney general can also make legal interpretations and issue opinions on legal questions. The opinions are not rulings and are nonbinding, but they are often followed and cited by others, such as local governments and attorneys.
Comptroller of Public Accounts: The comptroller is the state’s accountant and chief financial officer. The office is responsible for collecting state fees and taxes, which are primarily sales taxes from local governments. (Texas doesn’t have a state income tax, and property taxes are collected by local governments.) The comptroller also manages hundreds of state contracts on behalf of other agencies and provides forecasts on the state’s revenue and economy for the Legislature. This helps set the course for legislative sessions, Clark said.
Commissioner of the General Land Office: The commissioner of the General Land Office manages 13 million acres of state land. The office also administers federal aid after natural disasters, manages the historic Alamo site and oversees investments from the Permanent School Fund, a state endowment created in 1876 to help fund public education. It also provides support for veterans through the Veterans Land Board, which offers land and home loans and other services to veterans.
Commissioner of Agriculture: Apart from supporting farmers and regulating the agriculture industry, the commissioner of agriculture regulates weights and measuring devices, including grocery scales and retail price scanners. The agriculture commissioner is also in charge of administering school lunch programs and other assistance programs to help address hunger and promote nutrition.
Railroad Commissioner: The Railroad Commission, which is made up of three elected seats, regulates oil, gas, coal and pipelines in the state. (It was originally established to regulate railroad tariffs, but railroads are now overseen by the Rail Division of the Texas Department of Transportation.) This means railroad commissioners oversee gas utility services and rates, as well as coal and uranium mining in the state.
Member, State Board of Education: The State Board of Education (SBOE) sets policies and standards for Texas public schools. The primary responsibilities of the SBOE include:
- Setting curriculum standards
- Reviewing and adopting instructional materials
- Establishing graduation requirements
- Overseeing the Texas Permanent School Fund
- Appointing board members to military reservation and special school districts
- Providing final review of rules proposed by the State Board for Educator Certification
- Reviewing the commissioner's proposed award of new charter schools, with authority to veto a recommended applicant
The board is made up of SBOE members elected from single-member districts.
State Office (Legislative)
Texas State Representative: The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents about 167,637 people. There are no term limits.
State Senator: The Texas Senate is the upper house of the Texas State Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing single-member districts across the U.S. state of Texas, with populations of approximately 806,000 per constituency, based on the 2010 U.S. Census. There are no term limits, and each term is four years long.
State Office (Judicial)
Justice, Supreme Court: The court of last resort for civil matters (including juvenile delinquency cases, which are categorized as civil under the Texas Family Code) in the U.S. state of Texas. By statute, the Texas Supreme Court has administrative control over the State Bar of Texas, an agency of the judiciary.[3] The Texas Supreme Court has the sole authority to license attorneys in Texas.[4] It also appoints the members of the Board of Law Examiners[5] which, under instructions of the Supreme Court, administers the Texas bar exam.[6] The Court has the last word in attorney disciplinary proceedings brought by the Commission for Lawyer Discipline, a committee of the State Bar of Texas, but rarely exercises discretionary review in such cases. The Supreme Court accepts fewer than 100 cases per year to be decided on the merits. In addition to its adjudicatory and administrative functions, the Supreme Court promulgates, and occasionally revises, court rules of procedure, which include the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure (TRCP), the Texas Rules of Evidence (TRE), and the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure (TRAP).
Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals: The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) is the court of last resort for all criminal matters in Texas. The Court of Criminal Appeals exercises discretionary review over criminal cases, which means that it may choose whether or not to review a case. The only cases that the Court must hear are those involving the sentencing of capital punishment or the denial of bail.
Chief Justice, 1st Court of Appeals: The Texas Courts of Appeals are part of the Texas judicial system. In Texas, all cases appealed from district and county courts, criminal and civil, go to one of the fourteen intermediate courts of appeals, with one exception: death penalty cases. The latter are taken directly to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the court of last resort for criminal matters in the State of Texas. The highest court for civil and juvenile matters is the Texas Supreme Court. While the Supreme Court (SCOTX) and the Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) each have nine members per the Texas Constitution, the sizes of the intermediate courts of appeals are set by statute and vary greatly, depending on historical case filings and so that the justices on each court can timely adjudicate the volume of cases regularly before them.
Justice, 1st Court of Appeals District: see above
Justice, 14th Court of Appeals District: see above
District Judge: The district courts are the trial courts of general jurisdiction of Texas. The geographical area served by each court is established by the Legislature, but each county must be served by at least one district court. In sparsely populated areas of the State, several counties may be served by a single district court, while an urban county may be served by many district courts.
District courts have original jurisdiction in felony criminal cases, divorce cases, cases involving title to land, election contest cases, civil matters in which the amount of money or damages involved is $200 or more, and any matters in which jurisdiction is not placed in another trial court. While most district courts try both criminal and civil cases, in the more densely populated counties the courts may specialize in civil, criminal, juvenile, or family law matters.
Family District Judge:
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County Offices
County Judge: Depending on the size of the county, the county judge has a wide range of judicial and administrative duties and is the presiding officer of the commissioners court.
What Does a County Judge Do in Texas?
- Presiding officer of the commissioners court
- Represents the county in many administrative functions
- Serves as budget officer in counties with fewer than 225,000 residents
- Most have broad judicial duties, such as presiding over misdemeanor criminal and small civil cases, probate matters and appeals from the Justice of the Peace Court
- Serves as head of emergency management
Criminal District Attorney: The district attorney analyzes and gathers evidence to determine if there are grounds for criminal prosecution of cases within their districts and presents cases at trial.
What Does a District Attorney Do in Texas?
A district attorney in Texas has the following duties:
- Represents the state in prosecuting felony criminal cases
- Works with law enforcement officers in the investigation of criminal cases
- Presents cases to the grand jury
- Represents victims of violence in protective orders and represents the state in removing children from abusive households.
Judge, County Civil Court at Law: The civil jurisdiction of most county courts at law varies but is usually more than that of the justice of the peace courts and less than that of the district courts. County courts at law usually have appellate jurisdiction in cases appealed from justice of the peace and municipal courts.
Judge, County Criminal Court: Because the Constitution limits each county to a single county court, the Legislature has created statutory county courts at law in more populous counties to aid the single county court in its judicial functions. The legal jurisdiction of the special county-level trial courts varies considerably and is established by the statute which creates the particular court. The jurisdiction of statutorily-created county courts at law may be concurrent with the jurisdiction of the county and district courts in the county.
Judge, County Probate Court: In the more populated counties, the Legislature has created specialized probate courts to hear probate matters exclusively. Statutory probate courts are located in 10 of the state's 15 largest metropolitan areas and have original and exclusive jurisdiction over their counties' probate matters, guardianship cases, and mental health commitments.
County Clerk: The main duties of the county clerk are to serve as clerk of the county court and the county commissioners court, act as recorder of deeds and other instruments, issue marriage licenses and take depositions. The clerk is also responsible for conducting countywide special and general elections and for handling absentee voting.
What Does a County Clerk Do in Texas?
- Serves as clerk and custodian of records for the commissioners court, constitutional county court and statutory county courts
- Acts as a recorder and custodian of important public records, including all bonds, deeds, birth and death certificates, assumed names and livestock brands, ensuring that records are maintained in a secure, archival manner
- Issues marriage licenses
- Serves as chief elections officer in most counties
County Treasurer: The county treasurer is the chief custodian of county finance and is charged with the safekeeping and investing of county funds. This includes the maintenance and reconciliation of all checking accounts under the care of the county treasurer and the disbursement of funds.
What Does a County Treasurer Do in Texas?
A county treasurer in Texas has the following duties:
- Receives and deposits all county revenues
- Acts as chief liaison between the county and depository banks
- Disburses funds upon the order of the Commissioners Court
- Records receipts and expenditures and reconciles bank statements
- May prepare the payroll
- May be designated as the county's investment officer and required to submit regular reports on county finance to the members of the Commissioners Court
- May also act as the county’s human resources officer, employee benefits coordinator, risk manager and insurance coordinator
- May have some audit responsibilities in counties with no Auditor
District Clerk: The district clerk performs the duties assigned by the Texas Constitution as registrar, recorder and custodian of all court pleadings, instruments and papers that are part of any legal cause of action in the district courts.
What Does a District Clerk Do in Texas?
- Serves as clerk and custodian of all records for the District Courts
- Indexes and secures all court records, collects filing fees, and handles funds held in litigation and money awarded to minors
- Coordinates the jury panel selection process
- May process passport applications
- Manages court registry funds
County School Trustee: The Board of Trustees acts to establish policies governing the operation of Harris County Department of Education. As a governmental body, it can take action only by majority vote at a legally called public meeting. All meetings are open to the public. The board elects the County Superintendent as its chief executive officer to administer the organization.
County Commissioner: The county commissioner is responsible for roads and bridges within their precinct and makes policy-making budget decisions. Four commissioners, elected from a quarter of the county's population, serve along with the county judge on the commissioner’s court.
What does a County Commissioner Do in Texas?
- As member of the commissioners court, exercises broad policy-making authority
- Represents one of four precincts within the county
- Typically responsible for building and maintaining county roads and bridges within the precinct
Justice of the Peace: The Texas Constitution requires that each county in the State establish between one and eight justice of the peace precincts, depending upon the population of the county. Also, depending on the population of the precinct, either one or two justice of the peace courts are to be established in each precinct.
Justice of the peace courts have original jurisdiction in Class C misdemeanor criminal cases, which are less serious minor offenses. These courts also have jurisdiction over minor civil matters. A justice of the peace may issue search or arrest warrants, and may serve as the coroner in counties where there is no provision for a medical examiner. These courts also have jurisdiction over small claims matters.
- Class C Misdemeanors in Texas.
Conservation & Reclamation District: Brazoria County Drainage District Number Three (the District) was created by an order of the Commissioners Court on January 20, 1910. In 1929 the Texas Legislature recreated into a Conservation and Reclamation District with Senate Bill No. 24, and then in 1969 the District was reestablished and recreated as “Brazoria County Conservation and Reclamation District Number Three” by an order of the Texas House of the 61st Legislature Article 8280-476.
The District is empowered, among other things, to construct, to improve, and to maintain facilities necessary for the control of flood waters and navigation. The area of the District covers 211.55 square miles in the northern part of the county, plus 17,580 acres of water including: Halls Lake, Lost Bayou, Chocolate Bayou, and West Bay.
The District also covers approximately 600 miles of ditches which include the following:
Mustang Bayou, Chigger Creek, the upper end of Dickinson Bayou, Halls Bayou, and one half of Chocolate Bayou. The District is also responsible for drainage and maintenance of the many tributaries belonging to each of these ditches.
