Hays County Commissioners Adopt Early Voting Locations, Schedule For 2020 Primary Election

Staff Reports

On Tuesday, the Hays County Commissioners adopted the Early Voting Schedule for the 2020 Primary Election, which will take place on March 3.

Jennifer Anderson, Hays County Elections Administrator, addressed the court to present several recommendations for amendments to the Early Voting schedule.

Anderson said the Sinai Pentecostal Church cannot commit to the full two weeks of early voting but will remain an election day polling location.

“In addition to that, Chapa Middle School is up for discussion again,” Anderson said. “I received an email from Tim Savoy yesterday asking and urging us not to recommend that location for early voting.”

Anderson said the only location available at the school for early voting is the library, which would result in the library’s closure for the full two weeks of early voting; her recommendation is to not use Chapa and Sinai as polling locations and instead use the location at 2171 Yarrington Rd.

Commissioner Debbie Ingalsbe, Pct. 1, said she appreciated Jennifer’s work and hoped the Citizens Elections Review Commission would be able to come up with other options for polling locations for the east side of I-35.

“[The March primary election locations] are agreed upon mutually by the Democratic and Re-publican party and we are fortunate in our county that our parties actually work together pretty well in trying to select those lo-cations and recommending them,” Commissioner Walt Smith, Pct. 4, said.

Smith commended the democratic and republic party chairs for Hays County for bringing the court a list of locations that were acceptable to both of them.

Commissioners approved an amended early voting schedule and locations unanimously.

Due to Monday, Feb. 16, being a federal holiday, early voting will begin Tuesday, Feb. 17, and run through Friday, Feb. 28.

• 17 – Feb. 21 | 8 AM to 5 PM
• 22 | 7 AM to 7 PM
• 23 | Feb. 1 PM to 6 PM
• 24 – Feb. 28 | 7 AM to 7 PM

A full list of the proposed locations and times can be seen below. The list does not reflect the removal of Sinai Pentecostal Church and Chapa Middle School.

Early-Voting-Locations-Primary-Election-2020-Proposed

“As we look at these locations, I hope that our citizens advisory panel will look at some additional locations in my precinct for the November Election,” Smith said, “And possibly look at changing at least one of the traditional locations in Dripping Springs. And I say that because whenever we host a polling spot in our precinct office in Dripping Springs, our Justice of the Peace office with two weeks of early voting, it closes for a month and a half.”