Monday was the first day of early voting for the midterm elections and polls are open across town. In many locations, the lines were quite busy. Some of those voters shared their thoughts about the importance of early voting.
As of 5:26 p.m. Monday, the Lubbock County Elections Office reports 7,473 voters checked in at the polls.
“I think that as American citizens, we have a duty to vote early because that gets it off my plate, then I can relax and wait for the results to come in,” Lubbock resident Edson Way said.
Another Lubbock resident, Lynn Leonard shared, “Well, because that way I don’t forget and honestly when they started early voting, it was because I didn’t have to stand in lines, obviously today is not that way.”
In this case, they both certainly had the right idea, especially given the number of voters in Lubbock.
“We have registered 7,200 brand new people in Lubbock County since March, so we know there will be long lines on Election Day and in order to avoid those long lines, we are encouraging everybody take advantage of the 12 days of early voting,” Dorothy Kennedy from the Lubbock County Elections Office said.
With so many new voters, polling locations around town are sure to see some long lines, but on Election Day, those lines are likely to be much worse.
“I hope that there’s a huge voter turnout from both parties. I think the political process has been challenged in ways that I’ve not seen thus far in my life. And, I think we all need to participate in it to get the government that every one of us wants,” Way said.
Early voters have until Friday, November 2, to get to the polls. Election Day is Tuesday, November 6.
Before you head out to the polls, be sure you avoid wearing any clothing or other materials that with campaign, political affiliations or political candidates, otherwise you will be turned away. For more information on polling locations and voter guidelines, click here.