Election Day Preview: What you need to know
Election Day Preview: What you need to know
The good news is that the changes will make it easier for registered voters to make it to the polls, but the bad news is if early voting is any indication of what’s to come, we will have a lower voter turnout than in 2015. We spoke with the county clerk, and a local political science professor who had different reasons for the low numbers.
HOUSTON - There is the potential for a new mayor for the City of Houston, and billion-dollar bonds, all on the ballot for Tuesday's election. Here are some things you need to know before hitting the polls.
The good news is that the changes will make it easier for registered voters to make it to the polls, but the bad news is if early voting is any indication of what’s to come, we will have a lower voter turnout than in 2015. We spoke with the county clerk, and a local political science professor who had different reasons for the low numbers.
Dr. Diane Trautman, the Harris County clerk, says “Now there could’ve been a lot of reasons for that, it could’ve been the Astros. Could’ve been, you know, just other things going on, and also it could be that people realize they can vote anywhere they want on Tuesday, so it’s like really another day of early voting. So maybe they’re just waiting for tomorrow to do that.“
Mark Jones, a professor at Rice University, thinks it’s something else, saying, “Back in 2015, we had about 26 percent of registered voters turn out. This time around I think we’re looking at somewhere between 17, 18, 19 and 20 percent, and that’s in part due to the fact that in 2015 we had a very controversial hero amendment on the ballot related to LGBTQ rights. This time around, there is no driver like that.”
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Jones says there is also less enthusiasm over the mayoral candidates. That does not mean you should avoid casting your ballot, as there are other notable positions that need to be filled.
“There’s quite a bit of national attention on HD 28, looking at that as a barometer for whether Democrats might be able to flip Texas, at least flip the Texas house in 2020,” says Jones.
He also predicts that the long lines associated with Election Day should not be an issue with low voter turnout expected, and the new countywide polling place program, letting voters choose from 757 polling locations. Another thing new this year is that it will take longer than usual for the results to come in, a last-minute decision by the secretary of state, even though the reporting process was already approved.
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Dr. Trautman tells FOX 26, “So, as a result, we have to go to a contingency plan, which involves law enforcement picking up the results from our 10 countywide drop off locations, and delivering them to central count downtown to be tabulated, and as you can imagine this is going to take a little longer.“
It is a change that does not affect voters or poll workers, but has left the county clerk’s office wondering why now.
“I think it’s just a change that disrupts the election process in Harris County, and we don’t ever need to be disrupting our election process. Especially at the last minute,” says Trautman.
Election Day polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. For more information on polling locations and sample ballots, go to https://www.harrisvotes.com/.