Breckenridge Texan

The number of Stephens County citizens who cast ballots in Early Voting during the past two weeks was more than double the number of voters in the same time period during the last mid-term election, according to information from Christie Latham, the election coordinator for the county.

More than 2,000 Stephens County residents have voted so far in the 2018 General Election, including those who cast ballots in Early Voting and sent in ballots by mail.

Early Voting

Although the first week of Early Voting had high numbers, according to Latham, less than half as many citizens cast votes in the second week. The total number of in-person Early Voting ballots was 1,896 for the two-week period, and the total number of all ballots received so far is 2,111. That includes 1,282 in the first week, 605 the second week, nine limited ballots and 215 Ballots By Mail.

A limited ballot is used when someone moves into Stephens County and did not get their voter registration switched over in time for the deadline but is still a registered voter in the county that they moved from. Latham said those voters are allowed to vote for any races that are common to the county they moved from and Stephens County, such as a state-wide race.

Although 215 Ballots By Mail have been received in the elections office so far, there are more that could still come in. Based on the number of mail-in ballots her office sent out, about 30 have not been returned, Latham said. The mail-in ballots can be received up until 5 p.m. the day after the election.

The current and updated Early Voting day-by-day totals, according to Latham, are:

Early Voting in Stephens County - 2018 General Election

Historical Comparison

The number of early votes cast this year (not including Ballots By Mail and limited ballots), 1,896, is more than double the 824 early votes in 2014, the last mid-term election. That year, the voting break-down by day was: Oct. 20 – 80; Oct. 21 – 82; Oct. 22 – 96; Oct. 23 – 66; Oct. 24 – 84; Oct. 27 – 54; Oct. 28 – 66; Oct. 29 – 81; Oct. 30 – 92; and, Oct. 31 – 123.

The number of early votes this year is 120 fewer votes than were cast in Early Voting in the 2016 General Election, which was a presidential election. During the 2016 presidential election, Latham said, there were 2,016 votes cast during early voting. That included 1,015 the first week and 1,001 the second week.

On Election Day 2016, Latham said, an additional 1,037 votes were cast for a total of 3,053 votes during that election. Typically, presidential elections have larger voter turnouts than mid-term elections, she said.

Election Day

On Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 6, voting will be held from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m in each Stephens County precinct voting location. To verify your precinct, look on your Voter Registration card or click here to go to the Texas Secretary of State website to check. Those locations are:

Precinct 1
First National Bank Tower room
101 E. Walker

Precinct 2
First Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall
1601 W. Elliott

Precinct 3
Breckenridge Chamber of Commerce
100 E. Elm

Precinct 4
BISD Support Center (Bus Barn)
907 U.S. Highway 183 North

Precinct 5
Wayland Volunteer Fire Department
10276 FM 1852

Voter ID

In order to vote in person, citizens who are registered to vote must show an acceptable photo ID. According to the Texas Secretary of State’s VoteTexas website, acceptable forms of photo ID are:

• Texas Driver License issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS)
• Texas Election Identification Certificate issued by DPS
• Texas Personal Identification Card issued by DPS
• Texas Handgun License issued by DPS
• United States Military Identification Card containing the person’s photograph
• United States Citizenship Certificate containing the person’s photograph
• United States Passport (book or card)

With the exception of the U.S. Citizenship Certificate, which does not expire, the acceptable form of photo identification for voters aged 18-69 may be expired no more than four years before being presented for voter qualification at the polling place. For voters aged 70 or older, the acceptable form of photo identification may be expired for any length of time if the identification is otherwise valid.

If you are registered to vote but do not have one of those forms of ID, talk to the election official at the polling place to figure out how you may cast your ballot.

On the Ballot

The following list shows the candidates who are on the ballot in Stephens County. Stephens County is divided into two different U.S. Representative districts, so each ballot will have only the appropriate district’s candidates on it. Additionally, voters who live in the City of Breckenridge will have an opportunity to vote on whether or not to allow the sale of wine and beer with a 17 percent alcohol content. For more information on the wine and beer election, click here to see previous articles by the Breckenridge Texan.

On the ballot:

U.S. Senator
REP   Ted Cruz
DEM Beto O’Rourke
LIB   Neal M. Dikeman

U.S. Representative District 11
REP   Mike Conaway
DEM Jennie Lou Leeder
LIB   Rhett Rosenquest Smith

U.S. Representative District 19
REP   Jodey Arrington
DEM Miguel Levario

Governor
REP   Greg Abbott
DEM Lupe Valdez
LIB   Mark Jay Tippetts

Lieutenant Governor
REP   Dan Patrick
DEM Mike Collier
LIB   Kerry Douglas McKennon

Attorney General
REP   Ken Paxton
DEM Justin Nelson
LIB   Michael Ray Harris

Comptroller of Public Accounts
REP   Glenn Hegar
DEM Joi Chevalier
LIB   Ben Sanders

Commissioner of the General Land Office
REP   George P. Bush
DEM Miguel Suazo
LIB   Matt Pina

Commissioner of Agriculture
REP   Sid Miller
DEM Kim Olson
LIB   Richard Carpenter

Railroad Commissioner
REP   Christi Craddick
DEM Roman McAllen
LIB   Mike Wright

Justice, Supreme Court, Place 2
REP   Jimmy Blacklock
DEM Steven Kirkland

Justice, Supreme Court, Place 4
REP   John Devine
DEM R.K. Sandill

Justice, Supreme Court, Place 6
REP   Jeff Brown
DEM Kathy Cheng

Presiding Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals
REP   Sharon Keller
DEM Maria T. (Terri) Jackson
LIB   William Bryan Strange III

Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals Place 7
REP   Barbara Parker Hervey
DEM Ramona Franklin

Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals Place 8
REP   Michelle Slaughter
LIB   Mark Ash

State Representative District 60
REP   Mike Lang

Chief Justice, 11th Court of Appeals District
REP   John Bailey

County Judge
REP   Michael Roach

District Clerk
REP   Christie Coapland

County Clerk
REP   Jackie Ensey

County Treasurer
REP   Sharon Trigg

County Commissioner Pct. 2
REP   Mark McCullough

County Commissioner Pct. 4
REP   Eric O’Dell

Justice of the Peace
REP   Steve Spoon

Story by Tony Pilkington and Carla McKeown/Breckenridge Texan

(Top photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)