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Voting: Know Before You Go

Here are some hints to make your own voting process a little quicker and to reduce the wait for your fellow voters.


Mail Ballots Are for Mailing

If you received a mail ballot, fill it in and mail it at least a few days before Election Day. If you bring the ballot and its return envelope to a polling place, you will be able to vote in person; however, you will have to do some paperwork that will slow the line down. If you do not bring the ballot and return envelope, you will have to cast a provisional ballot. That will really slow the line down.


If you still want to vote in person, or if you lost your ballot, please vote during the first week of early voting. The lines will probably get longer as the voting period progresses.


Voter ID

There are several acceptable forms of voter ID, but your Texas driver’s license is the most efficient. By scanning the back of your license, the poll worker does not have to type in your name. Take the license out of your wallet before you reach the check-in station, as the scannable code is on the back.


It does not matter if the address on your license is out of date. Voter ID is only used to prove who you are, not where you live.


You can use your license even if it expired within the last four years. If you are over 70, it can be expired for any length of time.


It’s not a bad idea to carry your voter registration card, but don’t offer it to the poll worker. It does not serve as a voter ID, and it is not required for voting. If you hand the card to the poll worker, they are supposed to check whether it is signed. If it isn’t signed, they are supposed to ask you to sign it on the spot. That is a minor delay, but it adds no value.


“Electronic Communications Devices”

The law says you can’t use them in a polling place, but the law was written before your phone became essential to every human activity. If your cheat sheet is on your phone, the election judge won’t stop you from looking at it. But don’t even think about making a phone call, texting, taking a picture or video, or making an audio recording.


If You See Something in the Polling Place…

… say something, but only to an election judge. As soon as you get outside, you can call the Election Protection Hotline or the Secretary of State as you deem appropriate. You can also look for a yellow-shirted Election Protection volunteer or go to the WimDems tent. They will have those phone numbers. But do not try to litigate your case inside the polling place. Observe the details, register your complaint with the election judge and leave.


And here is a good place to repeat: no photos, videos or sound recordings in the polling place!


Make Up Your Mind before You Leave Home

There is no straight-ticket voting anymore, and you may have some non-partisan positions on the ballot. There is also one proposition. There are 22 different ballot styles (combinations of candidates) being used in Wimberley. If you email your VUID (it’s on your voter registration card) to wimdems@gmail.com with the subject "Ballot Style", we will reply with your sample ballot.


Helpful hint: The candidates with DEM after their names are always an excellent choice!


Check the Waiting Times

It is a very informal system, but WimDems are posting the number of people on line from time to time. Go to our Facebook page: facebook.com/WimberleyDemocrats. And you might want to review the basics of picking your time and place by reading this: https://wimdems.org/when-and-where.

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