TYLER COUNTY – Six hundred and twenty-one Tyler County residents came out to the polling place in Woodville on Monday, Oct. 21 to cast their ballots for day one of early voting.
The early voting period, which lasts two weeks, until Friday, Nov. 1, drew 796,297 total voters, statewide, on Monday, according to the Secretary of State.
That figure represents 4.28% of the more than 18.6 million registered Texas voters. In 2020, the last presidential election year, more than 16 million Texans were registered to vote, and 66.73% of them cast their ballots, which was up from the 59.39% of voters who voted in the previous 2016 presidential election, according to figures from the SOS’s office.
Experts predict that millions of Texans will take advantage of the early voting period, with the top-of-the-ticket Kamala Harris/Tim Walz vs. Donald Trump/J.D. Vance presidential race drawing most of the attention, but a hotly contested race between incumbent Republican senator Ted Cruz and Democratic challenger Colin Allred also on many Texans’ minds.
In 2020, the total number of registered voters who utilized the early voting period was 5,889, with first day tallies of 600.
That year, which had a first-week early voter showing of 2,229 registered voters coming to the polling place, set records, and during that year, the period was extended from the normal two weeks to three, due to the effects of the pandemic, which was in full thrall that year.
The early voting location for Tyler Countians is the Tyler County Nutrition Center, located at 201 Veterans Way, in Woodville, behind McClure’s Furniture. The polls are open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Monday through Friday, and from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Oct. 26 (Saturday). On Sunday, Oct. 27 the polls open at 2 p.m. and close at 8 p.m., and from Monday, Oct. 28 through Friday, Nov. 1, the hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The office of the Tyler County Clerk, Donece Gregory, is advising anyone who wishes to take advantage of the early voting period to go ahead and vote early, if possible, for the lines for the General Election, on Nov. 5, will likely be long.
Gregory and her office wanted to remind voters that there is a curbside ballot option available, which can be taken advantage of by calling 409-283-2281 in advance.
Also, there are rules about campaigning/electioneering, which is forbidden within 100 feet of the polling place.
This means that voters cannot wear clothing or other items that publicize candidates, political parties or measures, even if they are not currently on the ballot.
