Texas OKs Smith County vote centers

Published 3:09 pm Friday, January 8, 2016

Smith County political parties are preparing for their primary elections following the state’sapproval of the use of countywide vote centers in the county.

The centers will allow voters to vote at any one of 34 polling locations in the county on Election Day, rather than voting at specified precinct polling locations.

Smith County used the centers for the first time for the November Texas constitutional amendment election and received approval from the Secretary of State to use the program for all subsequent elections.

“We are very excited to be able to give convenience and flexibility to voters by giving them the decision on where they cast their vote on Election Day,” Smith County Elections Administrator Karen Nelson said in a news release.

The centers will be used in the March 1 primary for president and local elections. Democrat and Republican parties will hold their primaries in the same physical locations. The voting machines will be shared between both parties.  A voter will walk in the location, get verified on the computer and declare which primary they want to vote in and then an available election clerk will pull up the correct ballot on the voting machine. Legally, a voter can only vote in one primary. They will not be required to tell anyone which candidates they plan to vote for, only which ballot they wish to participate in. Voters also will have to bring a photo ID.

Acceptable forms of ID include a driver’s license, an ID card issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety, a military ID, a concealed handgun license, a United States passport or a U.S. citizenship certificate. Voters also can cast a ballot with a Texas Election Identification Certificate, which are issued by DPS.

The Republican ticket will have several presidential candidates listed who dropped out of the race after the deadline to be removed from the Texas ballot, said Tim McCormick, chairman of the Smith County Republican Party. The ballot also will have four questions designed to poll the party base. The questions are non-binding and available for viewing prior to casting a ballot at www.smithcountyGOP.org.

The last day to register to vote to participate in the primary is Feb. 1.

Mrs. Nelson said the November constitutional election had a greater turnout than previous years, which she credits to the vote-center concept. Voters were given the opportunity to fill out surveys on the Voting Centers, and Mrs. Nelson said the survey showed overwhelmingly positive feedback from Smith County residents.

Since the state last year approved Smith County’s plan to implement the Voting Centers, the Elections Department was required to hold a public hearing to gather input from voters and submit an election report detailing the results of the November Election, according to a news release. The state then designated the election as successful, authorizing the county to continue to use the program for subsequent elections.

The chairs of each local political party had to agree to allow the countywide voter centers to move forward.

“We think it’s an excellent idea,” McCormick said. “We think it will help voters and make voting convenient, especially coupled with the new photo ID law, which allows people to use their drivers license to vote.”

PRECINCT CONVENTIONS

The countywide vote centers will change the way the parties hold their precinct conventions following the close of the polls.

The precinct convention is the first step for each party to set its party platform, leading up to their respective national conventions. Delegates from each are elected up from the precinct, to the county and onward to the state and the national convention.

The Republican Party will hold its conventions two days after the close of polls, McCormick said. There will be roughly five locations, and the individual precincts will split off into separate rooms to hold individual conventions.

“We will give folks a chance to have a little bit of social time before and afterward,” McCormick said, adding the locations will be posted at each polling location.

The Democrats will hold precinct and county conventions on March 19, said Shirley Falzone, Smith County Democratic Party chair. The place is still to be determined.

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IMPORTANT ELECTION DATES

Last Day to register to vote: Feb. 1

Early Voting: Feb. 16 to Feb. 26

Last day to apply for a ballot by mail: Feb. 19 (received, not postmarked)

Primary Election Day: March 1

VOTE CENTER LOCATIONS

Commissioner 1

Bethel Bible Church, 17121 U.S. Highway 69 South, Tyler, 75703

Owens Elementary School, 11780 County Road 168, Tyler, 75703

Bullard 1st Methodist Church, 204 Rather St., Bullard, 75757

Noonday Community Center, 16662 CR 196, Tyler, 75703

Old Tyler Airport, 150 Airport Drive, Tyler, 75704

First Church of Nazarene, 3700 Old Bullard Road, Tyler, 75701

Broadway Church of Christ, 100 Cumberland Road, Tyler, 75703

Three Lake Middle School, 2445 Three Lakes Parkway, Tyler, 75703

Flint Baptist Church, 11016 Farm-to-Market Road 346 W, Flint, 75762

Commissioner 2

Bell Elementary, 1409 Hankerson St., Tyler, 75701

Arp 1st Baptist Church, 304 W. Front St., Arp, 75750

Whitehouse Municipal Court, 311 E. Main St., Whitehouse

Hillcreek Baptist Church, 14749 Texas Highway 110 North, Whitehouse, 75791

Cameron Jarvis Library, 102 S. Georgia St., Troup, 75789

Chapel Hill High School, 13172 Highway 64 E., Tyler, 75707

Mt Carmel Baptist Church, 10519 FM 344 E., Whitehouse, 75791

Shiloh Pines Mobile Home Community, 2525 Shiloh Road, Tyler 75703

Commissioner 3

Crossbrand Cowboy Church, 11915 FM 2015, Tyler, 75708

Red Springs Fire Department, 16759 FM 14, Tyler, 75706

Victor Kay Gymnasium, 506 Wildcat Drive, Winona, 75792

Jackson Elementary School, 16406 FM 2676, Tyler, 75707

Hideaway Member Services Building, 101 Hide A Way Lake Central, Hideaway, 75771

Lindale Public Library, 200 E. Hubbard St., Lindale, 75771

Rose Heights Church of God, 2120 Old Omen Road, Tyler, 75701

Starville Church of God, 18396 Hwy 271, Tyler, 75709

Commissioner 4

Boulter Middle School, 2926 Garden Valley Road, Tyler, 75702

T J Austin Elementary, 1105 W. Franklin St., Tyler, 75702

Glass Recreation Center, 501 W. 32nd St, Tyler, 75702

Jones/Broshears Elementary, 3450 Chandler Highway, Tyler, 75702

The Heritage Building, 1900 W. Bellwood Road, Tyler, 75702

St Louis Baptist Church, 2800 Walton Road, Tyler, 75701

New Harmony Baptist Church, 10251 FM 724, Tyler, 75704

Dover Baptist Church, 21166 FM 1995, Tyler, 75704

The HUB, 304 E. Ferguson Avenue, Tyler, 75702