Sachse residents who intend to cast their ballot in the May 7 elections need to ensure they have registered to vote by Thursday, April 7.

Voters will have the chance to elect City Council Place 5 and Place 6, held by Cullen King and Jeff Bickerstaff, along with the mayor, which is currently held by Mike Felix.

All three races are competitive and no incumbents filed to keep their current positions. King and Felix both announced their intention to not run in the May elections at the Jan. 18 regular council meeting.

Bickerstaff is the only councilmember who filed election paperwork and he is running for mayor. He was first elected as a councilmember in 2013 and is in his third term.

Bickerstaff will be opposed by Teddy Kinzer, who currently serves as a director on the Sachse Economic Development Corporation and President of the Sachse Chamber of Commerce.

Place 5 has two candidates: Lindsay Buhler, who serves on the Municipal Development District board, and former EDC President Spencer Hauenstein.

Resident Adrian Rodriguez is running for place 6 against Matt Prestenburg, who also serves on the Municipal Development District board.

The mayor and councilmembers are elected at-large in Sachse therefore they represent the entire city rather than districts and all registered voters cast a ballot for all seven places.

Sachse residents in Dallas County will also have their say in the elections for the Garland ISD board of trustees.

Incumbents Johnny Beach, place 2, and Linda Griffin, place 3, are both running unopposed. Beach was first elected in 2013 and in his third term. Griffin was elected in 1998 and is in her eighth term.

Challenger Bob Duckworth, who is running for the fourth time, is running against incumbent Larry Glick for place 1. Glick was first elected in 2007 and is in his fifth term.

For Collin County residents, there are no school board elections because Wylie ISD holds trustee elections in the fall. The next Wylie ISD election is November 8 and four places will be on the ballot.

All Texas residents will still have the option to vote on two Texas Constitutional amendments, both of which concern property taxes.

If passed, Proposition 1 would authorize the Texas Legislature to reduce the limit on property taxes imposed on the homesteads of elderly or disabled residents to reflect any tax rate reduction enacted by law from the preceding tax year.

Proposition 2 would increase the homestead exemption for school district property taxes from $25,000 to $40,000.

Early voting is set to begin Monday, April 25, and end Tuesday, May 3. Election day is Saturday, May 7.

In Texas, Eligible voters must be a U.S. citizen, a resident of the county where the application is submitted, at least 17 years 10 months, not a convicted felon unless certain eligibility requirements are met or declared mentally incapacitated.

More information can be found at votetexas.gov.

Voter registration applications can be found online at sos.state.tx.us and must be filled out and returned to the county Voter Registrar’s Office.

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