Record numbers as voters began to cast their ballots

Katharina Santos, Staff Reporter|October 22, 2018

Kia Dunlop

Early voting in Texas began on Monday at 8:00 a.m. and continues through Friday, Nov. 2. Voters can cast their ballots at any location in the county in which they live during early voting but must vote at their designated polling place on Election Day.

The early voting window officially opened Monday at 8:00 a.m. and continues until Nov. 6 with voters being able to vote every day during this window including Saturday and Sunday.

In years past, polling places have seen relatively light crowds on the first day of early voting, but that was the case this year as Collin County saw five times the number of early voters Monday compared to the first day in the presidential election of 2016.

But with crowds expected to be bigger on Nov. 6, some teachers on campus hit the closest polling place as soon as possible.

“I went out and voted this afternoon at a local fire station because the wait times are a lot smaller today than on election day,” golf coach Shannon Glidwell said. “It’s also much easier for me to just go during my lunch or conference period than to have to go really early in the morning or late after school, especially since I have two younger kids.”

For senior Molly Lammes, early voting is a great way to ensure she has a chance to vote in the election.

“I want to make sure that I have a chance to vote this year,” Lammes said. “I know that on Election Day I have to go to an assigned place with an assigned time slot and I want to make sure, scheduling wise, that I have the opportunity to vote.”

Although voting is encouraged, government teacher Fred Kaiser believes that it isn’t for everyone.

“It’s not fair to those of us that do our research and are informed about the candidates to get our votes cancelled by those who vote uninformed,” Kaiser said. “People should go out, learn about who they’re voting for and make sure they’re informed.”

Voting is one way for citizens to express their beliefs and have a voice in their nation’s government. It is also seen as a civic duty and responsibility on behalf of the people.

“If all of us are going to have opinions towards our government and be given the opportunity to voice them, we should all take advantage of that,” Lammes said. “We don’t have a right to complain about the government \if we didn’t even try to take take part or influence a change.”