Election day today
Nov. 8—Voters are heading to the polls today to make their voices heard in multiple important elections across Hunt County.
More than one out of every five voters in Hunt County cast early ballots and polls will be open between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. today.
A list of polling places will be included in today's editions of the newspaper, and the Herald-Banner will post election results to its website (heraldbanner.com) as they become available.
The Hunt County Voter Administration Office reported that 14,660 people had voted early by the end of the early voting period Friday evening, representing 22.44% of Hunt County's 64,437 registered voters.
These midterms will impact control Congress as well as decide the makeup of the top political leadership in Texas. Democrat Beto O'Rourke seeks to wrestle away the governorship from incumbent Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton is trying to fend off a challenge by Democrat Rochelle Garza, and incumbent Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick faces a challenge from Democrat Mike Collier.
Most Hunt County voters will choose between Republican Angela Paxon and Democrat Jonathan Cocks in the state Senate District 8 race.
At the federal level, the race for the U.S. House District 3 seat boils down to former Republican Collin County Judge Keith Self versus Democrat Sandeep Srivastava of Plano.
In addition, several consequential local issues are on the ballot. The Greenville ISD has set a bond referendum for $136.5 million in facilities upgrades, including replacements of the district's current LP Waters Early Childhood Center at an estimated cost of $31.4 million, and its middle school at about $105.1 million.
Also, Hunt County has proposed a property tax freeze for people age 65 and older as well as disabled individuals. If approved, the owner of a home with a homestead exemption would never see their Hunt County property taxes increase.
A number of other school districts in Hunt County also are staging referendums.
The Quinlan ISD has a $25 million bond package on the ballot to pay for instructional facilities and a transportation facility. Hunt County voters served by Terrell ISD will decide on a $115 million bond for new school facilities.
The Leonard ISD seeks approval of $39.5 million in bonds for a new elementary campus, a vocational agriculture facility addition, and a partial renovation of the existing intermediate campus into a career readiness/CTE facility.
Hunt County's newest municipality, the City of Poetry, is seeking approval to establish a 1.5% sales and use tax to pay for the maintenance and repair of local streets.
The City of West Tawakoni is hosting an election for the city council, including mayor and Places 2 and 4. However, all the races will be decided by write-in votes.
Those wanting additional information can contact the Hunt County Elections Administration Office at 903-454-5467 or online at the county's website. They also can visit the Texas Secretary of State Elections Division at www.votetexas.gov.
