Happy Hour 131: Three Great Reasons to Show Up and Vote This November

Next month's election - early voting actually starts on Monday, October 23 - is what we like to call a "low-turnout/high impact" election. Meaning, since few Texans (unfortunately) are likely to show up, YOUR vote carries a LOT more weight than it would in a higher-turnout situation. Ironically, these quieter elections are frequently the most significant opportunities Texans have to nudge our state in the right direction, and that's certainly the case with the 14 constitutional amendment propositions you'll be faced with at the ballot box. Many are actually a chance to get something GOOD done for Texas for a change - others are deceptively-worded money grabs for billionaires - making a seemingly unimportant election a VERY important one for Texas progressives to show up for. In this episode, we're proud to welcome Becky Bullard, Texas political podcasting pioneer and current Communications Manager for the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club to talk about Prop 7 - the creation of a "Texas Energy Fund" - which might sound like a good idea, but is actually a giant handout to fossil fuel billionaires - vote NO. We also welcome Texas Retired Teachers Association Executive Director Tim Lee and retired veteran educator Cathy Patrick to talk about Prop 9, which would approve the first cost of living increase for our state's retired teachers in over two decades - vote YES. And finally, our friend Luke Metzger, Executive Director of Environment Texas, to talk Prop 14 - the creation of a Centennial Parks Conservation Fund earmarked for the creation and maintenance of state parks - vote YES. Find (and support!) our handy and popular voter guide at https://progresstexas.org/2023-texas-statewide-ballot-guide. More on the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club: https://www.sierraclub.org/texas More on the Texas Retired Teachers Association: https://trta.org/ More on Environment Texas: https://environmentamerica.org/texas/