Run-off for 2020 Primary Election scheduled for Tuesday, July 14
With just less than 15 percent of Stephens County registered voters casting ballots, Early Voting wrapped up last Friday in the Republican and Democratic Primary Run-off elections. Election Day will be Tuesday, July 14.
Locally, the runoff primary election will be between David Fambro and Chad Ezell for the Republican nomination for Stephens County Commissioner, Precinct 1. There also are a few state offices on the Republican ballot, depending on the precinct, and a couple of state races on the Democratic ballot.
According to the numbers on the Texas Secretary of State’s website, during Early Voting, which was held June 29-July 10, a total of 818 citizens voted; with 5,546 people registered to vote in Stephens County, that’s 14.75 percent of the voters. There were a total of 790 votes in the Republican Primary Run-off — 656 voted in person and 134 mail-in ballots were received during that time period. There were 28 votes cast in the Democratic Primary Run-off — 13 voted in person and 15 mail-in ballots were received.
Early Voting for run-off elections is usually only one week, however due to COVID-19, and in an effort to try to avoid a lot of social congestion with lines to vote, the Early Voting for this run-off was extended to two weeks, said Christie Latham, the Stephens County elections coordinator. Additionally, although Early Voting took place at the courthouse, this year’s set up was a little different due to changes related to COVID-19. Since the east door of the courthouse are the only doors open at this time and that hallway is often busy, the voting booths were relocated to the front entryway of the courthouse.
Polling Locations
On Tuesday, July 14, 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.
Ballots by Mail
Ballots received by mail must be returned by mail, Latham said. They cannot be hand delivered to the Early Voting Clerk at the Tax Office. The only exception to the rule is on Election Day. If a person has requested a Ballot by Mail, the ballot may be returned to the Early Voting Clerk on Election Day only by the actual voter. No one can deliver it for them. Additionally, an affidavit must be signed and government-issued photo ID must be presented if the voter chooses to return their Ballot by Mail in person.
According to the Secretary of State’s website, the last day for the County to receive a ballot by mail is Tuesday, July 14, 2020 (Election Day) at 7 p.m. if the carrier envelope is not postmarked; or Wednesday, July 15, 2020 (next business day after Election Day) at 5 p.m. if the carrier envelope is postmarked by 7 p.m. at the location of the election on Election Day (unless overseas or military voter deadlines apply).
Top photo: Breckenridge Texan file photo
