The federal government plans on stepping in to help build more Veterans Affairs hospitals in Texas, but that’s only if voters give the OK.

With El Paso's large military presence and the growing number of veterans in the area, some feel there's a need for more VA hospitals across the state and that's one item voters can decide on.

"Both of my grandfathers were in the Army and my dad was in the Air Force," said El Pasoan Dean Craig. Craig's family has a long history of fighting battles for our country, but along with the battles came health problems. "My dad was 100 percent medically disabled,” Craig said.

For the most part veterans receive treatment through the El Paso VA Health Care System, but certain medical problems sometimes leave patients with no choice but to travel hundreds of miles for special or additional treatment.

“I've gone to quite a few of them since I have retired,” said Archie Hartsfield, a 30-year Army veteran. “In El Paso you're about 300 something miles away from anything else in Texas, so either you get it here in El Paso or you have to go to Albuquerque."

In the Nov. 3 election, voters have the opportunity to enlist the state's aid in establishing more VA hospitals with Proposition 8. The measure allows Texas to partner up with the VA to build hospitals across the Lone Star State.

"I think it's a great idea; they need more hospitals," Hartsfield added.

Hartsfield plans on voting yes for Proposition 8 in hopes of alleviating the need for more hospitals, but says there’s another problem brewing at the hospitals. "Sometimes they just need more staff; they are understaffed," said Hartsfield.

Another veteran-related measure on the upcoming ballot is Proposition 6, which allows the state to continue issuing bonds for the veterans home loan program.