news – Page 4 – Carol A. Spencer

Election Integrity: Highest Priority

For many elections, I have served as presiding judge of the Early Voting Ballot Board, Signature Verification Committee and Central Count. This position is critical to the validity of our elections. (These committees are described below.)

I filed to run for Republican Precinct Chair in my precinct, 1008. A few weeks later, so did someone else. That made it a contested race. Contested candidates cannot serve as the presiding judge of these committees. So, I had a choice: continue to serve as presiding judge or run for precinct chair.

I chose election integrity and serving as presiding judge.

Below is the letter I sent to Justin Bezner, Bastrop County GOP Chair. I have withdrawn my name from the ballot. As I said in my letter, there are many ways to serve the Republican Party. I’ll continue my involvement through the Lost Pines Republican Women, the Bastrop County GOP Club, and when called upon, through the BCRP.

What’s the “Early Voting Ballot Board” and “Signature Verification Committee”? What’s “Central Count”?

These are two groups, made up of an equal number of Republicans and Democrats, that are critical to ensuring election integrity.

Early Voting Ballot Board
An early voting ballot board (EVBB) shall be created in each election to process early voting results from the territory served by the early voting clerk. No matter what type of election an entity is having, they must have an early voting ballot board.

In Bastrop County, the EVBB also typically serves as the Signature Verification Committee, ensuring that a ballot signature matches the application. This is a critical function for election integrity.

Central Counting Station
A central counting station (“CCS”) is the place on election night where ballots are counted, vote totals are accumulated, precinct returns are completed and the unofficial elections results are generated.

Who’s To Blame?

I spend a lot of time on X (formerly Twitter). I have always liked the short format with links to deeper dives. I liked that even when Twitter was limited to 140 characters, although sharing info in 140 characters was often very difficult.

When it changed to 280, we had the opportunity to be truly verbose in our tweets. Now, with a paid account, pretty much the sky is the limit making some tweets downright book chapters. Most people split them up into smaller tweets. In the X world, those multi-tweet posts are called “threads”.

When you spend a lot of time there, you’ll find people blaming all levels of government and elected officials for the problem “du jour”.

Then, the other day I got a panicked phone call from a friend working on a non-profit issue. She panicked because some info was due and now the government was closed. Once I explained that she was working with state government and they weren’t closed, she breathed a sign of relief.

All that got me thinking about the importance of understanding who does what in the government sphere. And as we know from our tax bills, we sure do have a lot of layers of government.

The Federal government is closed. That’s it. State, county, city, boards of education, local and state courts are not. And Federal courts usually stay open for a while during a shutdown. Need to do something “governmental”? Search online to find out what level of government handles that task.

Looking for blame for the Federal shutdown? All bloviating aside, it’s important to know what has to happen to keep the Federal government operating. It needs a budget and authorization to spend that money.

Spending bills originate in the House of Representatives according to the US Constitution (Article 1, Section 7). Once an identical bill is passed by the House and Senate, the President must sign it for it to become law. That includes spending bills.

The US House passed a CR, a “Continuing Resolution” which will enable the Federal government to continue to operate. Sometimes new or modified spending is included in a CR. Not this time. The US House passed a “clean” CR to have the government continue operating with current levels of funding in place.

The US Senate needs 60 votes to end discussion on a bill and has yet to get the 60 votes needed to stop discussing and move to vote on the House-passed CR.

The President can’t do anything until he is presented with an identical bill passed by both Houses of Congress.

So where does the blame lie? Squarely with the US Senate. Without 60 votes to stop debate and formally vote on the CR passed by the House, the Federal government will remain closed. The US House has done its job. The President doesn’t have a bill to sign or veto. An open or closed Federal government lies in the hands of the US Senate.

Because there aren’t 60 Republicans in the Senate, without a few Democrat votes, it’ll remain closed. Majority leader Chuck Schumer needs to convince a few Dems to vote to keep the Federal government open, no matter what he says on TV or in online interviews. The ball is in his court. Chuck Schumer needs to find the votes to open the Federal government. If he can’t, he and he alone will be responsible for a failure of leadership and the impacts on the American people of a closed Federal government.

Running for Precinct Chair

Ready to Serve Republicans in Precinct 1008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 23, 2025
Contact: Carol A. Spencer
RepublicanCarol@gmail.com

Carol A. Spencer Republican Carol Spencer has filed for a place on the ballot in the March 2026 primary to serve as Precinct Chair in Bastrop County (TX) Precinct 1008. Spencer is currently president of the Bastrop County GOP Club. She served as a Bastrop County precinct chair from 2018 – 2022. She is a founder and past-president of the Lost Pines Republican Women. And in 2023, she was named a Texas Federation of Republican Women “Ten Outstanding”, representing the best of the best Texas Republican women.

Believing strongly in the necessity of communicating with the grassroots, Spencer started a newsletter for her precinct and later continued that communications via RepublicanCarol.org. She spearheaded a joint project, The Bastrop County Voters Guide, with the Republican Party. This guide is mailed head-of-household to all Republican households in Bastrop County. This guide contributed to Republican sweeps in each of the last two election cycles.

“Conservative values, Texas values, are the core of my political positions. I’ve brought those core values to everything I’ve done. I’ve worked hard for 35+ years for open government, smaller government, lower taxes, and operational efficiency”, Spencer stated. “My record is solid and with the votes of Republicans in Precinct 1008, I’ll continue those efforts on their behalf.”

Currently serving as Presiding Judge of the Early Voting Ballot Board (EVBB) and Central Count, Spencer is dedicated to ensuring election integrity in Bastrop County. She’s held this position for numerous elections, overseeing mail-in ballot and result count accuracy.

Spencer, a web designer by profession, created her RepublicanCarol.org blog. She designed and manages content for the websites of the Lost Pines Republican Women and the Bastrop County GOP Club. She previously authored the Bastrop County Republican Party website.

Spencer will appear on the ballots of those in Precinct 1008 in the March 3, 2026 Republican primary.

Carol Spencer can be reached via email at RepublicanCarol@gmail.com, on X (formerly Twitter) as @RepublicanCarol, on Gettr as ChazTX, on Facebook at FB.com/RepublicanCarol.

We are all Charlie Kirk

I had the amazing privilege of meeting and talking with Charlie Kirk on May 1, 2021. As the president of Lost Pines Republican Women, I had reached to Charlie’s organization in 2019 to see if we could have him speak at one of our events. At that time, he was filling in for various radio hosts. I knew immediately that I liked what he had to say and he’d be an impactful speaker.

Due to Covid, our event was rescheduled to 2021, one week before his marriage to Erika. That night, and every time I saw Charlie speak after that, I noted that he did not use any notes. Charlie didn’t stand at a podium with his speech on paper or teleprompter in front of him. Charlie had an amazing grasp of the Bible and knowledge of history. He was an incredible strategist. Best of all, Charlie spoke from the heart and mind.

Deep gratitude to Chase Bradshaw who asked me to help with the planning of this tribute to Charlie. Deep gratitude to every person I called and asked to help. Every single one said yes. Gratitude to Thomas Nutty, a Bastrop resident, who put together this video of the event. And, most of all, gratitude to Charlie Kirk who gave his love and his life to our Country.

Killers Amongst Us

Twenty-four years ago, the Twin Towers and those working within were destroyed. People who woke up that morning like any other day and went to work. Two thousand, nine hundred, seventy seven people, innocent people. Now we have other killers amongst us, killers who target their political opponents or those with whom they’re angry or those they blame for life problems or just random people.

We’ve lost our humanity, our respect for others, our faith, our belief in something greater than ourselves.

We can all cry out that this must stop. We can call for coming together. But that won’t do it. We are facing evil and there’s no “coming together” with evil. There is only defeating it.

Charlie Kirk’s way was to openly discuss anything with those who disagreed with him. “Ask Charlie Anything” podcasts were just that. So American. Ask. Discuss. Exchange ideas. Learn.

Charlie may be gone. The 2,977 who died on 9-11 may be gone. And we’ve all been greatly affected by the loss. The question now is what will we do with it?

Stan Gerdes: Take a Stand

Yesterday I posted on Twitter (X) to @GregAbbott_TX

Give them 48 hours to return during which time the Speaker should fine them. If they don’t return, declare their seats vacant. Then vote with the lower quorum.

Empty seats in the TX House You may have seen that. Just like y’all, these people ran for office and that means doing the job. When the Governor leaves Texas, Dan Patrick assumes that position. If Trump were in the hospital, JD Vance would assume that position. When these people leave the state ON PURPOSE TO THWART THE BUSINESS OF THE STATE, there isn’t anyone to assume their positions, so they should be declared VACANT.

Airplane Cabin The key here is intent. They didn’t leave to attend a relative’s funeral or wedding. They didn’t leave because they are reservists and were called up to active duty. They didn’t leave during a called session for a vacation. They left to prohibit the Texas House from doing its work, the work of the people.

They could vote no. They could vote present, not voting. They could abstain. But what they can’t do is flee to stop business altogether. Doing so and remaining in-State calls for arrest. Doing so out-of-State to avoid arrest is grounds for removal.

Stan, you are my representative. You won a Republican primary. You won the General election with predominantly Republican votes. You need to represent Republicans in this matter, supporting fines, arrests if they return in-State after 3PM today, and adding your voice to the calls for the Governor to declare the State-fleeing Democrat seats vacant.

You claim to be endorsed by President Trump. President Trump has called for, wants and needs this map, which is appropriate for Texas to have proper and reflective representation. If you accept the endorsement of President Trump and his America First agenda, you must support fines, arrests and the Governor declaring the state-fleeing Democrat seats vacant.

Don’t confuse friendship with duty. These people are not your friends. You’ll know that when you leave office. They’d stab us all in the back in a heartbeat, which is exactly what they’re doing by fleeing the State. Take a stand!

Addendum: Governor Abbott says he’ll declare Dem seats vacant if those Dems aren’t in them at 3PM today.

Redistricting TX.

[Comments will be taken online at this link https://comments.house.texas.gov/home until the committee meeting is adjourned. The bill number is HB4 and the map is Plan C2308.]

Is it illegal to redistrict now? No. Is Texas growing significantly? Yes. Do the districts as drawn by Plan C2308 comply with applicable law and court decisions? Yes. Other than politics which enters into everything the legislature does no matter the bill number or issue, is there any reason this should not be done? No.

The diatribe coming from those in the opposing political party is no different than the diatribe that comes from any opposition party, unhappy with the fact that they don’t have the majority and can’t stop adoption should the proposing party stick together in their votes. Wipe away the political posturing and there is no reason this bill and map should not be adopted.

Voters ultimately get to choose by casting votes. Adopting this Big Beautiful Map and HB4 does not guarantee any outcome at the polls. That’s clear from the outcome at the polls in many elections. They’re called upsets. They happen in every election.

Texas House Redistricting Committee So, take a vote and pass the map immediately upon the end of public testimony. There will be a quorum and no reason to delay that vote. I doubt any member of the committee is going to change his/her vote, so get the job done. Do not adjourn until the vote is taken and the map is adopted!

Want to watch the August 1 (final) TX House committee hearing? It’s here: https://house.texas.gov/videos/22418

ADDENDUM:
Every member of this committee with the exception of Tom Oliverson and Hillary Gail Hickland voted to impeach Ken Paxton. They voted based on data provided with less than 24 hours notice. Now, the Committee Dems are whining about only having the bill and map 48 hours before today’s hearing. Yet, on Ken Paxton: silence! Disingenuous!

Chair: Rep. Cody Vasut (Y on Paxton, Rep)
Vice Chair: Rep. Jon E. Rosenthal (Y on Paxton, Dem)
Members: Rep. Josey Garcia (Y on Paxton, Dem)
Rep. Barbara Gervin-Hawkins (Y on Paxton, Dem)
Rep. R. D. “Bobby” Guerra (Y on Paxton, Dem)
Rep. Ryan Guillen (Y on Paxton, Rep)
Rep. Cole Hefner (Y on Paxton, Rep)
Rep. Hillary Gail Hickland (N/A, Rep)
Rep. Jolanda Jones (Y on Paxton, Dem)
Rep. Christian Manuel (Y on Paxton, Dem)
Rep. Tom Oliverson (absent, Rep)
Rep. David Spiller (Y on Paxton, Rep)
Rep. Carl Tepper (Y on Paxton, Rep)
Rep. Terry M. Wilson (Y on Paxton, Rep)
Rep. Gene Wu (Y on Paxton, Dem)