ERS Board of Trustees election: voting ends June 16

In April, the Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) certified five candidates to run in the 2023 ERS Board of Trustees election for the position currently held by Catherine Melvin of the Department of Public Safety. The certified candidates are listed below in randomly drawn ballot order.

• Jimmy Jackson, retiree
• Suzy Whittenton, retiree
• Stuart Greenfield, retiree
• Chris Nelson, Texas Workforce Commission
• Ilesa Daniels, retiree

If you’re reading this before June 16, are eligible to vote and haven’t voted yet, you still have time! Before you vote, however, we encourage you to watch the recording of the May 11 candidate forum to hear each candidate’s position on issues related to pension, insurance and other ERS-administered benefits.

How to vote

Retired state employees who get a monthly annuity payment from ERS and state agency employees who have an ERS account balance as of Jan. 31, 2023, are eligible to vote.

In early May, ERS mailed all eligible voters a paper ballot and instructions for convenient, secure and cost-efficient electronic voting. To vote electronically, visit the voting portal at https://vote.yeselections.com/erstx/ or go to the ERS website and click the “VOTE” link at the top center of the page. If you want to vote by mail, return your ballot in the postage-paid envelope that came in your election packet by Friday, June 16; mailed ballots must be postmarked by June 16.

Remember: You can vote by paper ballot OR electronically. Do not submit a paper ballot AND vote electronically. ERS will only count the first vote from you that we receive.

ERS will certify the election results on July 20. The term for the new trustee will begin Sept. 1, 2023.

After we certify the election results, you can find information about the new trustee on our Board election webpage and in the September issue of Your ERS Connection.