Getting to the polls just got easierand free. The Corpus Christi Regional Transportation Authority (CCRTA) is providing fare-free rides for anyone traveling to or from voting locations on two key dates: Monday, October 19 (the first day of early voting) and Tuesday, November 3 (Election Day).

Riders simply need to tell their bus operator that they are going to or coming from voting. Thats it. No proof of voter registration, identification, or destination is required.

The free rides apply to all CCRTA services, including:

Eligible B-Line Paratransit customers can book their trips through the GoPass mobile app. Note that B-Line and rural on-demand trips generally need to be scheduled at least 24 hours in advance.

To plan your trip, download the free GoPass mobile app. It helps you find routes, check schedules, and locate the nearest stops to voting centers. CCRTAs website (ccrta.org/vote) also features maps and route information tied to early voting locations.

CCRTA has offered similar fare-free service in past election cycles as part of its effort to reduce transportation barriers to voting. Whether you rely on fixed-route buses or need accessible paratransit service, the agency aims to make sure cost or access doesnt keep eligible voters from casting their ballots.

Mark your calendar for October 19 and November 3, download the GoPass app, and tell the operator youre headed to vote. Your ride is free.

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At a packed rally in Texas on Thursday, James Talarico compared his U.S. Senate campaign to David who fought Goliath as the Democrat faces more than $158 million in outside spending by Republican leadership and the world's richest man, Elon Musk.

Talarico told rallygoers under bright lights that David may not have had Goliath's strength, but he had a slingshot.

You are my slingshot," he continued, without mentioning Musk or the other spending against him. "We are going up against our own Goliaths.

The description falls in line with Talarico's past rhetoric painting politics not as right versus left, but the ultrawealthy versus everyone else, as he tries to become the first Democrat to win statewide in over 30 years. Talarico's own campaign has raised record amounts of money in one of the nation's more expensive and competitive Senate races.

The national conversation around Talaricos campaign has evolved over the past months. Initially, the state lawmaker was considered just the latest of several Democratic candidates over the past years who gave the party a hope of flipping Texas, only for that hope to deflate come Election Day.

Now, Talarico is seen as a real contender to win the seat against Republican candidate Ken Paxton. Talaricos success so far can partly be chalked up to voters apprehensions toward Paxton, who faced questions in his past over corruption, including being impeached by his own party in the Texas legislature. He was later acquitted.

While outside spending in support of Paxton has flooded the Texas airwaves with ads, Talarico's campaign itself has outpaced Paxton's in fundraising from donors eager for Texas to forgo its solidly Republican title.

The prospect of a flagship GOP state turning blue doesn't just fill Democrats with glee and Republicans with alarm. Whoever wins will help determine which party controls the Senate in President Donald Trump's final two years in office, making it either smooth sailing for Trump or a bog of investigations and opposition.

Talarico, a seminarian and state representative, has also tread a very careful path as nonpartisan as he can from the major metros that already tilt Democratic, along the border towns that flipped from blue to red last election, and to the rural Republican high plains and desert.

The candidate has distanced himself from former President Joe Biden's administration and his own party, and while progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders is coming to Texas this month, he won't be sharing a stage with Talarico.

Talarico's strategy is to take direct aim at what voters say they are most concerned about: the costs that have inexorably grown for years. That unaffordability, Talarico argued at the nighttime rally in Texas that was packed with younger voters, is because billionaires and corrupt politicians have rigged the system. It resonated.

They think that they can buy us, and that they can essentially be the kings of the country, said Kaitlyn Johnson, a 29-year-old bartender who attended the rally.

Johnson felt that Talarico put words to that feeling she'd held for a while, and the high costs keep nagging at her, too.

I make decent money, she said, but there's no way in hell that I'm going to be able to buy a house anytime soon.

Trump and Republicans are well aware of Talarico's ability to connect with voters, and of Paxton's struggles to find purchase in what would otherwise be a relatively easy race for a Republican. The president has made several trips to Texas to rally for Paxton.

Paxton has received significant financial support from Musk, who last year headed Trumps Department of Government Efficiency. Musk contributed $158 million to the Senate Leadership Fund, federal campaign spending filings showed Thursday. The Senate Leadership Fund gave $158 million to Texas PAC, the largest contributor to Paxtons campaign.

Musk also provided $10 million to Lone Star Liberty PAC, a group that supports Paxton.

The rally Thursday in the small city of San Marcos south of Austin follows nine days earlier this month when Talarico was out of the public eye due to the flu. His absence sparked a swirl of conspiracies online, including the false claim that he was at a mental health treatment center in Ohio. Shared by conservative social media influencers, the claim quickly fell apart at closer inspection.

Corpus Christi voters will decide Nov. 3 whether to continue a sales tax that provides millions of dollars each year for police officers, equipment and crime-prevention programs.

Proposition A on the Nov. 3 ballot asks voters whether the Corpus Christi Crime Control and Prevention District, along with its dedicated sales tax, should continue for another 10 years.

Proposition A does not create a new tax. The district is funded through an existing one-eighth-cent, or 0.125%, local sales tax. A vote in favor would continue the tax already being collected.

The Crime Control and Prevention District generates approximately $9 million to more than $11 million annually, depending on sales tax collections.

That funding supports 78 sworn police officer positions as well as police vehicles, equipment, technology and infrastructure.

That includes items such as body cameras, in-car video systems, Tasers, drones and e-bikes.

The money also supports several crime reduction and prevention initiatives, including Bike Patrol, the K-9 Unit, Directed Patrol, Traffic Safety and Crime Prevention Specialists.

Some of the revenue also goes toward community outreach efforts such as National Night Out, the Police Athletic League, Police Explorers, anti-bullying campaigns, safety inspections and active-shooter preparedness.

The Crime Control and Prevention District has a Board of Directors appointed by the Corpus Christi City Council, with one member appointed by each council member.

The board is responsible for developing and managing the district's budget, while the money is maintained separately from the city's general fund.

City Council can approve or reject the board's proposed budget but cannot unilaterally amend it.

The district dates back nearly three decades. Voters first approved it in 1997, with the tax taking effect in 1998. It was renewed for five years in 2002, followed by 10-year renewals in 2007 and 2016.

The current authorization is scheduled to expire April 1, 2027.

If voters reject Proposition A, the existing sales tax and the dedicated funding it generates would end after the current authorization expires.

The city has a contingency plan to move some police officer positions supported by the district into the city's general fund. However, the dedicated sales-tax revenue used for the district's officers, equipment and programs would no longer be available.

The ballot will present voters with the following question:

PROPOSITION A CONTINUATION OF CORPUS CHRISTI CRIME CONTROL AND PREVENTION DISTRICT

Whether the Corpus Christi Crime Control and Prevention District should be continued for ten years and the crime control and prevention district sales tax should be continued for ten years.

Voters will choose For or Against the proposition on Nov. 3.

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