Welcome to Bastrop County. If you just moved here, you joined one of the fastest-growing counties in Texas, and almost certainly one of the most beautiful. The Lost Pines, the Colorado River, the small-town downtowns of Bastrop, Smithville, and Elgin, and the open land that still stretches between them – this place is, quite simply, special.

You probably moved here for a reason. Maybe property prices priced you out of Austin. Maybe you wanted your kids in a different school environment. Maybe you got tired of paying for policies you didn’t believe in. Whatever the reason, here’s the most important thing a longtime Bastrop County conservative can tell you: Bastrop stays Bastrop only because the people who live here protect it. And that work is ongoing.

Here’s how to plug in.

Step 1: Get on the right list

The single most useful thing you can do in your first week is subscribe to the BCRP newsletter. You’ll get:

• Notices about upcoming elections – including the ones most newcomers don’t realize are happening
• A heads-up on local meetings that affect your property taxes and your neighborhood
• Information about who’s running for what and what they actually stand for
• Volunteer opportunities, when you’re ready

Sign up for the newsletter here. It takes 30 seconds, and it cuts through more political noise than any social feed you’ll find.

Step 2: Update your voter registration

If you moved from another county or another state, your voter registration does not follow you automatically. You have to update it. Texas makes this straightforward, but you have to actually do it – and there are deadlines tied to each election.

Visit our Voter Hub for the simplest path to getting registered at your new address. Do it this week. Don’t wait until an election is two weeks out and discover you’re not eligible.

Step 3: Learn your precinct

In Bastrop County, every voter belongs to a precinct, each with a designated Precinct Chair – your neighbor and your first point of contact for anything political happening on your streets. Use our precinct map to find yours, and look up your Precinct Chair so you know who they are when election season arrives.

If your precinct doesn’t have a chair? That’s a conversation worth having. (See Step 5.)

Step 4: Show up at one monthly meeting

BCRP holds monthly meetings at our office at 443 Highway 71 West in Bastrop. Anyone is welcome. Newcomers are particularly welcome – we love meeting people who are still learning the local landscape. Walk in, grab a seat, and you’ll leave knowing more about your new county than most people who’ve lived here for years.

Check the events calendar.

Step 5: Ask yourself what you can offer

Every newcomer brings something. Some bring time. Some bring skills – communications, finance, technology, organizing. Some bring connections, energy, or simply a willingness to knock on doors during the next election. Whatever you bring, BCRP can use it.

A short conversation with our County Chair – (512) 825-2707 – will get you matched to something that fits your life and your strengths.

A final word

You didn’t move to Bastrop County by accident. You came looking for something that’s becoming harder to find – and you found it. The people who already live here are grateful you chose us. The next step is choosing, in some small way, to help protect what made you want to come.

We’ll see you at the next meeting.

👉 Subscribe to the BCRP newsletter and start with the simplest step.