Early voting gets underway with new machines

By Donnie A. Lucas

Early voting started on Monday for the March 1 primary elections, with about 24 voters showing up at the Courthouse first floor lobby on the first day alone to mark their ballots.

In-person early voting will continue at the Courthouse through Friday, Feb. 25.

The hours for voting are 8:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. each weekday including Fridays, with the exception of Monday, Feb. 21 when the courthouse will be closed for the national observance of Presidents Day.

Applications for early voting by mail will still be accepted through Friday, Feb. 18 at 4:00 p.m. in the clerk’s office. The applications must be received in the office by the deadline and not just postmarked by Feb. 18.

All mail ballots must be received back in the clerk’s office by election day on Tuesday, March 1.

Voters will use new voting machines for the election which prints out a paper ballot to be marked. Then the voter feeds it back into the machine to be scanned and record the votes.

“Everything went very smoothly on the first day,” county and district clerk Cheri Hawkins said. “People say they like the new voting machines and that they are easy to use.”

Hawkins said that she has received 26 requests for Republican mail ballots, with 12 already returned, and six for the Democratic primary ballot, with three returned.

All voters are urged to present their new blue voter ID cards and photo IDs when arriving at the polls. New voter registration cards were sent out at the beginning of January.

Mail ballots have a new requirement this year, making it mandatory for those voters to write in their driver’s license numbers or the last four digits of their social security numbers on the inside flap of the return or carrier envelopes before they are sealed and returned. There is also an area on the return envelope that the voter must sign.

The state legislature made several changes to voting procedures that went into effect this year to help assure accurate results.

Ballots by mail must be received back in the clerk’s office by election day on March 1.

County voters will be electing party candidates for several offices to be determined in the November General Election.

The lone contested race in Shackelford County is for county judge, with John Viertel and Raleigh Breeden both running on the Republican Primary Ballot.

Other incumbents who have filed for additional four-year terms on the Republican primary ballot are County/District Clerk Cheri Hawkins, County Treasurer Tammy Brown, Justice of the Peace James Breeden, Precinct 2 Commissioner Ace Reames, and Precinct 4 Commissioner Cody Jordan.

Rodney Casey will also be on the ballot running for Republican Party Chairman.

No local candidates filed for the Democratic Primary.