It’s primary season.

Anyone who has left their house in the last month and driven around Fredericksburg or the backroads of the county has noticed the political signs, many for local races. What those signs don’t make clear is that only those voters taking part in the Republican Primary will get a chance to vote for those local races.

As residents of Gillespie County, we enjoy high civic engagement rates and turnout for elections at higher rates than the rest of the state. However, the two-party system used for local (countywide) elections means that only competition is within the Republican Party Primary.

Democrats who voted during primary early voting, may have noticed something missing on the ballot…. Gillespie County Judge, District Clerk, County Clerk, County Treasurer, County Surveyor, and Justices of the Peace and County Constable. Only voters in the Republican Party Primary Election have access to those races.

Some informed Democrats are aware of this and made the decision to forgo their opportunity to impact the local elections, while others made the decision to vote in the Republican primary to have a say in their local races.

County races are part of the direct primary system that was adopted by the state in the early 1900s. Texas is one of only a few states where judges are elected in partisan elections.

Gillespie County votes at near an 80% Republican rate in general elections so it means anyone running for a countywide position must do so on the Republican ballot.

As of last Wednesday, during early voting 2,727 voters had cast their vote at a 3-to-1 rate of Republican to Democrat.

In 2026, national politics are as fraught as ever. There are two newcomers, Jasmine Crockett and James Talarico running in the Democratic Primary to the Senate position currently held by John Corynn who has seven other Republicans running against him in the primary.

Crockett and Talarico are bringing out large numbers of Democratic voters across the state. Brining out voters is the point of our democracy and should be applauded, but Democrats in red counties, such as Gillespie, essentially must give up their local vote by voting in their preferred party’s primary.

In a society where we have become only more polarized at a national level on topics that are not germane to the everyday management of county government, it seems we would all be better served with a nonpartisan system for countywide elections. County elections should be like city elections, nonpartisan, so all voters get the chance to vote for the leaders they want.

We should not have to rely on some overgeneralized categorization of political party. We know each other. We go to church together, see each other at work, bump into each other at H-E-B, cheer for the Billies in the football stands, and have a shared love for our very special community. We’re raising our kids together and have a much better idea of the real character of our local leaders than those further removed at state and federal levels.

Local Democrats should not be shut out of the local election process just because they want to impact the statewide races. By the time the November general election rolls around the local countywide races will have already been decided.

Luckily, come May, all registered voters within the city limits of Fredericksburg will have the opportunity (and dare I say obligation) to vote in the city election for mayor and council positions.

Municipal elections are non-partisan and can come down to just a few votes. So join me in the most sacred right of our democracy, exercising the right that no one should take for granted or be discouraged from doing, vote!

Hudson is a Gillespie County resident and has a Master of Science Degree in Community and Regional Planning.