As of Thursday morning, a “whopping” 25 voters had streamed to the early voting polls at the Bee County clerk’s office in the courthouse, according to employees there.

Typically, constitutional amendment elections are low-turnout affairs, as hardly anyone gets excited about casting a ballot in years without a presidential, or at least a hot local, race.

Early voting, which began Monday, continues through Oct. 30, and Nov. 3 is officially Election Day.

This year voters will decide the fate of 11 constitutional amendments. The state document, which went into effect in 1876, has been amended 456 times, according to the House Research Organization.

We encourage Bee Countians to make the effort to go vote in favor of Proposition 11, which protects the rights of property owners and is supported by the Texas Farm Bureau.

Passage of Proposition 11 – the last amendment listed on the ballot – will stop the government from taking private property from one person to give to another for his or her personal gain, the TFB stated on its Web site.

“Eminent domain is not something people think about until their land, home or business property is taken,” the TFB president said. “That power is being misused and abused in Texas. Proposition 11 does not fix all of the problems, but it is a good first step toward eminent domain reform.”

Some e-mails have been circulated urging Texans to vote against Propositions 2 and 3. However, their concerns about creating a state property tax are false, according to Houston Chronicle story.

Basically, Proposition 2 attempts to protect homeowners from skyrocketing appraisals boosted by nearby commercial or business development. Current law requires appraisers to base appraisals on the “highest and best use” for the property, which can lead to a devaluing of homes and escalating of land values near urban areas.

The amendment requires appraisers to value a homestead as a home and not what it might be worth if the property were obtained by a developer and converted into a high-rise or a shopping mall parking lot, the Houston writer added.

Meanwhile, Proposition 3 would simply spell out the comptroller’s authority to bring about uniform appraisal standards, according to state Rep. John Otto, R-Dayton, a CPA who sponsored the legislation. Now, Texas’ hundreds of appraisal districts operate under a wide variety of rules and standards, with some functioning on shoestring budgets and limited access to mapping and other technologies.

Regarding the constitutional amendments, we recommend votes for:

Proposition 1: Authorizing local financing to buy buffer areas near military installations.

Proposition 2: Requiring appraisal of residence homesteads based on homestead value.

Proposition 3: Allowing state enforcement of uniform property appraisal standards.

Proposition 4: Establishing the National Research University Fund.

Proposition 5: Allowing consolidated boards of equalization for appraisal districts.

Proposition 6: Renewing Veterans’ Land Board bond authority for land and mortgage loans.

Proposition 7: Allowing members of the Texas State Guard to hold civil office.

Proposition 8: Authorizing the state to contribute resources to veterans’ hospitals.

Proposition 9: Establishing a right to use and access public beaches.

Proposition 10: Allowing board members of emergency services districts to serve four years.

Proposition 11: Restricting use of eminent domain to taking property for public purposes.