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

There will be four city council places on the ballot in Murphy, however, only two places drew challengers.

Place 1 is currently held by Elizabeth Abraham, who was first elected in 2019 and is seeking her second term. Abraham is being challenged by Karan Chetal, an eight-year resident of Murphy and an 11-year resident of Texas. Jennifer Berthiaume currently serves in City Council Place 2 and was first elected in 2016. She is seeking her third term and is currently running unopposed.

Place 4 is currently held by Ken Oltmann, who also serves as mayor pro tem. He was elected in 2019 and is seeking his second term. Oltmann is also running unopposed.

Place 6 is currently held by Jene Butler, first elected in 2019 and seeking her second term. Butler is being challenged by resident Michael Padilla, who has lived in Texas for 27 years and Murphy for five.

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

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.

Residents can check their voter registration status at collincountytx.gov/elections.