Killeen & Bell County ballot guide — November 3, 2026
This guide summarizes official Bell County and City of Killeen election documents. It is informational and does not endorse any candidate or proposition. Ballots differ by voting precinct; find yours on the county’s ballot samples page.
How and when to vote
| When | Hours or deadline |
|---|---|
| Early voting, Oct. 19–23 | 8 a.m.–5 p.m. |
| Saturday, Oct. 24 | 7 a.m.–7 p.m. |
| Sunday, Oct. 25 | noon–6 p.m. |
| Early voting, Oct. 26–30 | 7 a.m.–7 p.m. |
| Last day to apply for a mail ballot | Friday, Oct. 23 (received, not postmarked) |
| Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3 | 7 a.m.–7 p.m. at Election Day polling locations |
Killeen early-voting sites: Jackson Professional Learning Center (902 Rev. R.A. Abercrombie Dr.), Killeen Senior Center at Lions Club Park (1700 E. Stan Schlueter Loop), and True Deliverance Ministries (709 W. Dean Ave.). Countywide sites also include the Belton Annex (550 E. 2nd Ave.) and the Harker Heights Parks & Recreation Center (307 Millers Crossing). Source: Bell County Elections; the City of Killeen’s election order lists the same schedule. City Hall is no longer a polling place (City of Killeen).
What is on a Killeen ballot
The official sample ballot for Precinct 401 (Killeen) includes, among other races:
- U.S. Representative, District 31: John Carter (R), Justin Early (D), Greg Stoker (Green). See the 2026 housing law and how Texas members voted.
- Attorney General: Mayes Middleton (R), Nathan Johnson (D), Tom Oxford (L).
- Texas Supreme Court (four seats), Court of Criminal Appeals (three seats), Third Court of Appeals chief justice, and Fifteenth Court of Appeals (three seats).
- Justice of the Peace, Precinct 4, Place 2: Beatrice “Bea” Cox (R) and Jessica A. Gonzalez (D). This is the only contested judicial race on the Bell County portion of the ballot; the 169th, 264th and 478th district courts, the three county courts at law, and county judge each list one candidate.
- Bell County Commissioner, Precinct 4: Curtis Emmons (R), Ernest Wilkerson (D).
- Bell County Hospital Services District, Proposition A and City of Killeen Propositions A–H (below).
Bell County Hospital Services District, Proposition A
Ballot text: “THIS IS A TAX INCREASE: The creation of a Hospital district and the levy of a tax not to exceed 75 cents on each $100 of the taxable value of Property taxable by the district.” (sample ballot)
- How it reached the ballot: Commissioner Louie Minor (D-Killeen) submitted a creation petition under Texas Health and Safety Code § 281.003, which requires the Commissioners Court to order an election when at least 100 qualified, property-taxpaying voters sign and the petition is certified (Killeen Daily Herald).
- What it would do: create a countywide hospital district and a health care system for indigent residents. If it passes, a board appointed by the commissioners would set the actual rate (KDH).
- Supporters’ case: KWTX reports Minor emphasized that the ballot allows a rate of up to 75 cents but the actual rate could be as low as five cents, and that a district would create a dedicated funding source and let the county access federal funds it cannot reach without one (KWTX).
- Opponents’ concerns: Republican commissioners said they were required by law to order the election, raised concern about the 100-signature threshold, and Commissioner Bobby Whitson said he is “in no way, shape or form in favor of another tax” (KDH).
City of Killeen charter amendments, Propositions A–H
Killeen’s special charter election is held alongside the general election and administered by Bell County (City of Killeen). The table summarizes the city’s voter guide, which states it does not advocate for or against any proposition.
| Prop. | Subject | A vote FOR | A vote AGAINST |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Moving regular city elections to November | Moves mayor and council elections to the November uniform date in odd-numbered years. | Keeps May elections: district seats in odd years, mayor and at-large seats in even years. |
| B | Repealing resign-to-run | Ends the rule that a council member must resign upon filing for a different city office (e.g., council member running for mayor). | Keeps that rule. The charter does not require resignation to run for re-election or for a non-city office. |
| C | Filling council vacancies | Every vacancy filled by majority vote of the remaining council. A special election is called only if the council is “unable to appoint members due to a lack of quorum.” The appointee must still live in the district (unchanged). | Keeps current rules: a single vacancy is filled by appointment (required if more than 90 days before a regular election), and two or more simultaneous vacancies require a special election. |
| D | Initiative & referendum timeline | City Secretary has 30 days (up from 10) to certify a petition; petitioners get 30 days (up from 10) to fix a deficient one. | Keeps 10 days for each. |
| E | Adoption of initiatives | Council may not adopt, or send to voters, an initiated ordinance found inconsistent with state law. | Charter keeps no such provision. |
| F | Grounds for recall | A recall affidavit must allege incompetence, official misconduct or malfeasance, with supporting facts. | A resident may seek recall for any reason. |
| G | Recall petition requirements | City Secretary has 5 business days (up from 1) to issue recall petition blanks. | Keeps 1 business day. |
| H | Recall of a district council member | Only a resident of that district may file the recall affidavit. | Any Killeen voter may file it; only district residents may sign or vote, as now. |
The exact charter changes are in Exhibit A of Ordinance 26-030, adopted Aug. 4, 2026, which shows deleted text struck through and new text underlined. Two details there are not in the ballot language or the voter guide: Proposition A’s text adds that “the mayor or any councilmember elected prior to the adoption of this amendment shall serve until November 2027,” and the three-term limit in Section 22 gains the words “in any one office.” The ordinance’s staff memo estimates the city’s share of the election cost at $21,000.
Why Propositions B and C matter this year: District 1 Council Member Jessica Gonzalez is the Democratic nominee for Justice of the Peace, Precinct 4, Place 2, and has said she would immediately resign from the council if elected (Killeen Daily Herald). Under the current charter her JP candidacy did not require resignation, because it is not a city office.
What would happen to the District 1 seat. There is no District 1 race on this ballot: district seats are elected in odd-numbered years, and in December 2025 the council voted 7–0 to move regular city elections to November of odd-numbered years starting in 2027, with the mayor and all council members elected together (City of Killeen). A vacancy arising after a JP takes office in January 2027 would come more than 90 days before that election. For a single vacancy in that window, the current charter already requires the council to fill it by appointment (city voter guide), so Proposition C would not change that outcome. Under both the current and proposed text, the appointee must be “a bona fide resident of the district in which the vacancy occurs” (Ordinance 26-030, Exhibit A). The city’s own presentation summarizes Prop C as “Fill all vacancies on council by appointment” (ordinance packet); its main practical change is to two or more simultaneous vacancies, which today require a special election — the situation behind Killeen’s May 2, 2026 special election, which followed a series of resignations (KXXV).
How Propositions B and C reached the ballot. A citizen Charter Review Committee recommended changes in 2026. On resign-to-run, the committee voted 6–0 to recommend that a council member’s candidacy for any non-city office count as a resignation; the council instead voted 7–0 to repeal the provision entirely (Killeen Daily Herald; KDH). On vacancies, the council voted 6–1 to fill all vacancies by appointment; Councilwoman Mellisa Brown dissented, and her amendment to cap appointments at two per two-year term failed 3–4. The deputy city attorney told the council that 10 of 26 comparably sized Texas cities require vacancies to be filled by election (KDH).
For questions about the charter amendments, the city lists the City Secretary’s Office at (254) 501-7717; for polling places and mail ballots, Bell County Elections at (254) 933-5774.