GOP voters see propositions on March 1 primary ballot

By LYNETTE SOWELL 
Cove Leader-Press 

As voters in Copperas Cove and other cities throughout Texas head to the polls for the March 1 primary, they will see county, state, and federal candidates on the ballot. 
Through Sunday, Feb. 20, a total of 1896 ballots had been cast in Coryell County, 964 in the Copperas Cove area and 812 in the Gatesville area, and 120 mail-in ballots.
In addition to a lineup of candidates, what Republican voters will also see 10 propositions. 
Some might think those are proposed “laws” or legislation, but that’s not the case, according to the Texas GOP website.  
“Keep in mind that this is an opinion poll of Republican voters and not a policy referendum. You are not voting to make a law but merely saying YES you agree or NO you do not agree with the statement.”
The 10 propositions include: 
1.) In light of the federal government’s refusal to defend the southern border, Texas should immediately deploy the National Guard, Texas Military Forces, and necessary state law enforcement to seal the border, enforce immigration laws, and deport illegal aliens.
2.) Texas should eliminate all property taxes within ten (10) years without implementing a state income tax.
3.) Texans should not lose their jobs, nor should students be penalized, for declining a COVID-19 vaccine.
4.) Texas schools should teach students basic knowledge and American exceptionalism and reject Critical Race Theory and other curricula that promote Marxist doctrine and encourage division based on creed, race, or economic status.
5.) Texas should enact a State Constitutional Amendment to defend the sanctity of innocent human life, created in the image of God, from fertilization until natural death.
6.) The Republican-controlled Texas Legislature should end the practice of awarding committee chairmanships to Democrats.
7.) Texas should protect the integrity of our elections by verifying that registered voters are American citizens, restoring felony penalties and enacting civil penalties for vote fraud, and fighting any federal takeover of state elections.
8.) Texas should ban chemical castration, puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and genital mutilation surgery on all minor children for sex transition purposes.
9.) Texas parents and guardians should have the right to select schools, whether public or private, for their children, and the funding should follow the student.
10.) Texans affirm that our freedoms come from God and that the government should have no control over the conscience of individuals.
As the state GOP site states, the above measures aren’t something that are bills or otherwise going before the legislature, but rather a way to gauge what Republican party voters think. 
For the Democratic Party ballot, there are no state propositions being put to those voters. Also, wthe ballot itself is much smaller. 
With the two-party races, any winners of those primaries, whether they win outright next Tuesday or via a May runoff election, will face off against other parties in the November general election. 
Polls are open this week from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. through Friday. The early voting center in Copperas Cove is located at 508B Cove Terrace Shopping Center. 
Voters have had extended hours last week, from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. on Tuesday and Saturday, and a first for Coryell County voters, the opportunity to vote on Sunday, when a total of 53 voted.