Jeff Nevarez, owner of the Kennedale News, attended the weekly meeting of the Kennedale Rotary Club and heard a report by the person responsible for Tarrant County elections.
“I am confident that the security of our vote in Tarrant County and Texas will be well-protected,” said Nevarez after attending the meeting.
Nevarez had several take-aways from the session which he has shared with a video post on the Kennedale News Facebook page and which is also posted here. These are things voters can use to prepare for the upcoming vote and which could make it easier for all.
Link to video post: https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fkennedalenews%2Fvideos%2F238706560913405%2F&show_text=0&width=267
#1. Tarrant County elections and statewide elections will be safe and well protected. They have new machines and well throughout plans for conducting these elections including COVID-19 protections.
#2. The law in the State of Texas for using mail-in-ballots and who may qualify for mail-in ballots has not changed. Not everyone is able to use this form of cast a ballot. For more information see https://www.tarrantcounty.com/content/main/en/elections/Early-Voting-Information/Voting-by-Mail.html?linklocation=departmentcarousel&linkname=Elections:Voting%20by%20Mail%20(Absentee%20Ballot)
#3. There are seven forms of ID that can be used when you go to vote in person – all are legal but the election administrator recommended the Texas drivers license because it can be swiped and it moves the process along more quickly than other forms. And, if there are long lines, this will be much more important in helping keep things moving. For other forms of acceptable ID view https://www.tarrantcounty.com/en/elections/Voter-Information/Voter-ID-Requirement.html?linklocation=Button%20List&linkname=
#4. You can vote at any location in Tarrant County now for both early voting and election day. This is something new and not everyone may be aware of it. The process Texas is now set up to recognize your location and provide the correct ballot regardless of where you are voting within the county. This just applies for voters in a specific county, you may not vote in Johnson, Dallas, etc.
#5. Early voting in Texas has been moved up a week this year, so that you may vote starting on October 13, 2020, for in-person voting. Often the line is smaller, but, if the line is long, this option allows you to return the next day.
#6. Plan ahead and know who is running for office and who you want to vote for in this election. You can no longer vote a straight ticket by simply checking one box. You have to go through the ballot and decide each race independently. Note: you do not have to vote in every race for you ballot to still count.
#7. One way to plan ahead is to view/print a sample ballot from the Tarrant County Elections website so that you can do research on how you want to vote. It is legal to do so. It is also legal to bring this sample ballot with your choices checked off, or bring your own hand made list, to the voting center to use in completing the official ballot. This will greatly speed up the whole process for you and those waiting in line. However, you can not use your phone or any other electronic device while voting.
Remember for any questions you might have about voting, you can visit the following
- Voting Information Center on Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/votinginformationcenter/?hoisted_unit_ids or the Tarrant County Elections Administration #https://www.tarrantcounty.com/en/elections.html
- City of Kennedale Election page @ http://www.cityofkennedale.com/108/Elections-Elecciones
- Kennedale News – Local Election Information @ https://kennedalenews.com/local/local-elections/local-election-news-you-use/
