Commissioner Dianne Edmondson
Last month more than 150 Robson Ranch residents attended the HOA-sponsored Govt. 101 presentation. I‘ve been asked to provide a recap for those who couldn’t attend. Many of our neighbors have moved to Texas from other states whose election laws and practices are not the same as here in the Lone Star State. To be sure that everyone understands and can participate in the election process, here’s some basic information:
Voter Registration
You must be registered to vote at least 30 days before any election. To vote in the Nov. 8 General Election, that date is Oct. 11. To register to vote, you may pick up a voter registration card at the kiosk near the HOA office, fill it out, and drop it in the mail to the Denton County Elections Administration. Your light blue voter card will arrive by mail shortly. You do not register by political party in Texas. You just register to vote. You determine your party affiliation, if desired, by the party’s Primary Election in which you vote (Republican or Democrat). If you vote only in the General Election, you are an independent. Those Primary Elections are normally held in March of odd-numbered years to determine that slate of candidates that the major political parties will offer in the November General Election.
General Election Voting
In the General Election, you may not vote straight, one-punch ballot (as was allowed in years past), but you will vote on each individual race, and you may vote for candidates from either party. Federal, State, and County elected positions will appear on each ballot, plus the Denton City Council recall question.
You must provide a photo ID, such as a drivers’ license, and then your individual ballot will be printed for you. If you are unable, physically, to enter the voting site, the Election Judge will bring a privacy envelope containing a ballot curbside to the voter. A voter who is housebound, over 65, or who will be out of the county during the entire voting period may request a mail-in ballot. That request must reach the Elections Office by Oct. 28, and the completed ballot must be returned by 7 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 8.
Voting Process
There will be Early Voting for nearly two weeks, beginning Oct. 24 and ending Nov. 4. During that time, registered voters may vote at any polling site in the county, which includes the Robson Ranch clubhouse. However, we will have two polling sites here on Election Day and you must vote in the one assigned to your voter precinct.
Robson Ranch now has two voter precincts, one east of Ed Robson Blvd. (#4185) and one on the western side (#4186), replacing our previous single precinct (#4003). State law requires voter precincts to be split if the registered voters exceed 5,000, and with Robson Ranch’s booming sales, that threshold was reached last year, thus, our new “split personality”!
Again, due to state law, each precinct is to have its own voting site on General Election Day, Nov. 8. So, a second voting site for Pct. 4185 has been selected at the Sales Office on the east side. If you live east of Ed Robson Blvd. and miss that Early Voting window, you will need to vote at the Sales Office on Election Day.
To avoid any inconvenience, please vote early at the clubhouse, Oct. 24 to Nov. 4! Feel free to contact me with any questions.
If you would like to receive her e-newsletter, which will contain updates on area road projects, please contact Commissioner Edmondson at [email protected]. You may phone her at 972-434-3960 or visit her office in the Southwest Courthouse, 6200 Canyon Falls Drive, Suite 900, Argyle.