Early voting begins Monday from 8 a.m. through 5 p.m. for the Nov. 3 local option liquor election at the Kleberg County courthouse basement.

County Clerk Leo Alarcon said the local special election coincides with the Texas constitutional amendments election.

Alarcon said early voting for the election will be conducted by his office for two consecutive weeks and ends on Friday, Oct. 30.

Alarcon is asking voters to use the handicap ramp at the northside area across from the driver’s license office.

“We will have convenient access on the north entrance of courthouse with parking available on the concrete area where elected officials normally park,” Alarcon said.

The local option liquor election will include the original boundaries of Justice of the Peace, Precinct 1, before changes occurred back in 1981. Alarcon said that although the area is called J. P. Pct. 1, the old area includes four of the five Pct. 1 voting precincts and one and a half voting precincts of Pct. 4.

In addition to the state constitutional amendments, the voters eligible to vote for the special election will include voting precincts 11, 12, 13, 14, 41 and 43.

The voting locations are the Wild Horse Mall, the Kleberg County Precinct 1 building, the Coastal Bend Fellowship Church, the Boys & Girls Club building, the Kleberg County Precinct 4 building, and the Kleberg County Maintenance Annex 2 building.

All other Kleberg County eligible voters will vote only for the Texas constitutional amendment election at the Texas A&M University- Kingsville Industry and Tech building, the Knights of Columbus Hall building on Gen. Cavazos Blvd., the Ricardo Community Senior center and the Riviera County building.

Alarcon said that if the local liquor proposition passes, Kleberg County would become wet in its entirety.

On Nov. 3, Texans registered to vote will get an opportunity to cast ballots for or against 11 proposed Texas Constitutional amendments.

Constitutional amendments placed on the ballot for voter approval include the following:

Prop 1 Allows the state to authorize a municipality or county to issue bonds to finance the acquisition of buffer areas or open spaces adjacent to military installations to protect them from encroachment.

Prop 2 Empowers the state to set the valuation of a residence property solely on its value as a homestead, eliminating the influence of consideration of the highest and best use. Properties in areas without zoning restrictions are vulnerable to surrounding commercial development driving values up.

Prop 3 Gives the state full discretion in prescribing uniform standards and procedures for property tax appraisals. Since the state allocates public school funding based on the per-student taxable property value, it is thought that taxable values need to be determined in the same manner in every appraisal district.

Prop 4 Creates the national research university fund to provide a dedicated, independent and equitable source of funding to enable emerging state research universities to become national research universities.

Prop 5 Allows two or more adjoining appraisal districts, if they choose, to consolidate appraisal review board functions. Appraisal review boards are allowed, but not required, to consolidate services.

Prop 6 Permits the Veterans’ Land Board to not only provide, issue and sell general obligation bonds for mortgage loans to veterans, but also allows selling land to Texas veterans or providing them home or land mortgage loans. Removes the $500 million cap on the bonds.

Prop 7 Simply allows Texas State Guard or other state militia or military members to hold civil offices, and vice versa.

Prop 8 Gives Texans an opportunity to decide on expanding medical care access to our veterans by allowing the state to contribute money, property and other resources to establish, maintain and operate veterans hospitals. These facilities and their construction are currently restricted to federal regulations and appropriations.

Prop 9 Enhances the public’s right to free and unrestricted rights to public beaches, even when storm surges dramatically alter tidal and vegetation lines on Texas Gulf Coast properties. Though privately owned, the altered property line considered public beach must allow public access. Also adds the Texas Open Beaches Act to the Texas Constitution.

Prop 10 Limits terms of emergency services districts boards to four years.

Prop 11 Places statute of restrictions on eminent domain into the Constitution that specifies that “public use” excludes the taking of property for the primary purpose of economic development or enhancement of tax revenues.

Records indicate that the turnout in 2007 to vote on the constitutional amendments was a dismal 8.71 percent of over 12 million registered voters.