Alert: consolidated polling places
The polls close at 7:00 p.m. this evening and when they do, voting on all those constitutional provisions and bond items in the news will be over.
Some have found to their surprise that the location of their customary precinct polling place has been consolidated with that of another precinct, so it’s best to check first to make confirm precinct voting locations.
If you are registered, your precinct number will appear on your voter card. If you do not have your card or need to check whether or not you are recorded as being registered, use this link.
This consolidation was done fairly recently. Irate would-be voters calling the Secretary of State’s elections division have been told that there were public hearings on this matter; other callers report being given the information that this was a decision made by the county commissioners in order to save money. Whether there was preclearance under the Voting Rights Act or whether such was necessary is not known at this time. Finding the customary location closed has been an unpleasant surprise for some, especially those with brief lunch breaks.
I’m just posting to note that the consolidation thing is not new. I’ve lived in the same house in Austin since 1994. For the first two years, my polling place was in the same little church. The church changed hands (or elders, or something) and suddenly, my polling place changed with the wind. For the next 6 years or so, my polling place was located in at least 5 different spots. I even voted on a ‘Dillo bus in a parking lot for one election. For elections with expected low turnout (like today’s), my polling place was frequently consolidated with a nearby precinct’s. For the last few elections, I’ve been surprised to vote in the same spot for each election.