Guadalupe County voters urged to come prepared

(Seguin) — It’s Election Day in Texas, and Guadalupe County election officials are reminding voters to come prepared before heading to the polls.

Voters across the state will have their say on 17 proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution.

Lisa Hayes, Guadalupe County elections administrator, says the lengthy ballot can be confusing for some and encourages voters to do some preparatory work.

“I think the fact that there are 17 Constitutional Amendments complicates the situation for a lot of people because that’s a lot to remember and we all know that it is not a simple process to determine what to vote on either of those whether it’s for or against. So, I recommend getting a sample ballot. Go to our website. Use our sample ballot tool or come into our office and pick up a sample ballot and do the research. Look those up. Spend the time studying them to determine how you want to vote,” said Hayes.

Hayes says once folks have their homework in hand, they will have the benefit of bringing that information with them to the polls.

“Your options at that point (after researching)– the voters can mark their sample ballot as they plan to vote and bring it with them into polls which definitely helps make the process go more quickly or they can have some other kind of voting guide. They can write their selections down on a sheet of notebook paper or a napkin or whatever they want and bring it in. The only thing they are not allowed to bring into the polls is campaigning materials,” said Hayes.

Hayes also reminds residents that Guadalupe County voters now have 38 different voting locations to choose from today. Plus, thanks to the county’s vote center model, she says any registered voter in Guadalupe County can cast a ballot at any polling location within the county.

“On election day, the voters have 38 different Guadalupe County voting locations to choose from and because Guadalupe County uses Vote Centers, that means any Guadalupe County registered voter can go to any Guadalupe County voting election to vote. The biggest change we are going to see this year is that now the Elections Office is an election day voting location. In the past, we were only an early voting location and also, we’ve moved. We are at 3251 N. Hwy 123. We are no longer at the old address,” said Hayes.

At the end of early voting, 11,338 ballots were cast across Guadalupe County.

While the 17 constitutional amendments will appear on every Texan’s ballot, Hayes reminds voters that other items will vary depending on where voters live, including, local races, propositions, or district-specific issues. Voters are also reminded to bring along their photo ID.

Polls are open today from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Anyone in line at 7 p.m. when polls close will be allowed to vote Seguin Radio KWED will have live election coverage shortly after the polls close. Live election results are being made possible thanks to Starcke Furniture.