Editor: Shannon Cottongame
October 27, 2022
Early voting for the Tuesday, November 8 midterm election and local elections started Monday at three locations in Hill County. Locally, the closest early voting location is the new Hill County Precinct 1 annex, located at 5800 FM 933 in the Huron community between Whitney and Blum. Other options include the Hill County Exhibits Building at 205 Stadium Drive in Hillsboro and the Hubbard Civic Center at 300 North Magnolia in Hubbard. Hill County voting hours are from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Friday, October 28; 8 a.m. to noon Saturday, October 29; and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, October 31 through Friday, November 4. Bosque County early voting is being conducted at the Bosque County Elections Office, 104 West Morgan in Meridian, and the Clifton Civic Center, 403 West 3rd Street in Clifton. Hours in Bosque County are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, with an extended opportunity until 7 p.m. Thursday, October 27 and Wednesday, November 2. Bosque County residents can also vote on Saturday, October 29, from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.
Deadline to return mail-in ballot application is Friday
The last day to return an application requesting to vote by mail in the Tuesday, November 8 general election is Friday, October 28.
In Texas, a voter is only allowed to vote by mail if:
– they are 65 years of age or older on Election Day;
– they will be away from the county on election day and during the hours that early voting is conducted;
– they are sick or disabled, as defined in Texas Election Code;
– they are expected to give birth within three weeks before or after Election Day;
– or they are confined in jail but otherwise eligible to vote.
A voter who meets one of these requirements must request an Application for Ballot by Mail (ABBM) from the county elections office or from the Texas Secretary of State’s Office and return it to the local elections office by Friday’s deadline.
Those who have voted by mail in the past should note that the Texas Legislature created new identification rules for voting by mail last year.
Voters are required to provide their driver’s license or state ID number or, if they have not been assigned those, the last four digits of their Social Security number on both the application for a ballot and the carrier envelope used to return a completed ballot. If a voter does not have either number, they can indicate that they have not been issued that identification.
The state will allow voters to correct their mail-in applications or ballots if they are at risk of being rejected for an error, such as missing information or signature.
County officials are responsible for alerting voters if there is a defect with their application or ballot, and voters can also use a new online ballot tracker on the Secretary of State’s website to check the status of their application and ballot. The deadline to correct mail-in ballots is November 14.
For more information, contact the Hill County elections office at 254-582-4072, the Bosque County office at 254-435-6650 or visit http://www.votetexas.gov.
The Lakelander 