Travis County Commissioners Court
April 19, 2005
Item 25
25. Consider and take appropriate action on proposed Travis County election precincts realignments. Judge. Everybody -- all that camp left. But we probably -- dusty you can tell us about this. 375 I知 pretty interested in trying to do something, it was the one where there was a request to try to create an additional voting location. We have 29098 registered voters and 375 in the deer park creek estates area has 22, a little over 2200 of the 2900 voters. They have asked for a new set of -- set up, preferably at the elementary school there in deer park. Are you aware of when this is dusty?
>> [indiscernible]
>> I could tell.
>> well, here's -- here's the -- the issue that I have. I知 told that it takes about $20,000 to set up a new voting location.
>> 21.
>> $21,000.
>> I just testified on this last week.
>> and given that now we did have -- we did have a 59% early voting turnout in 375. But of -- of the 59%, I would imagine that the majority of those people were in deer creek, the drive that they have to make from deer creek over to volente because as you well know Commissioner Sonleitner the topography out there with the few roads that it takes to get from point a to point b. I have asked, can we set up a smaller -- because I think we usually set up a voting precinct with six voting machines and what I have asked is could we set something up, obviously perhaps moving towards where we either take in the 5,000 or we legitimately set something up that would be a -- you know, six -- six units, although I think with what's happening with early voting every one of these early -- every one of our precincts seem to be increasingly -- are increasing with regards to early voting. It kind of -- I知 kind of between a rock and a hard spot between whether I知 trying to run county government efficiently and spend $21,000 perhaps on us continuing to watch early voting take place and we are going to have less voters on election day. But I would -- I don't know who answers this question, if we could set something up in a smaller with less than $21,000 worth of expense, I may be promoted to ask the court if we could set up another voting place for the deer park folks. But how do you -- give me some help here. How do you usually handle that, court?
>> let me throw out another possibility here. We are extraordinarily hopeful that the fourth time or whatever it is will be the charm over at the state legislature. That our voting bill related to going higher than 3,000 is going to make it. It would seem to me that we would wait to see what happens with that bill and it may be that we can combine some of the folks that are over in this area in a new precinct that makes total sense for them and not get it involved in this 3,000 -- silliness because it is -- it is extraordinarily expensive to set these things up. It's not simply a matter of it's automatically six machines. It's six machines plus you have to have a -- a certain kind of dre and you have to have an ada and you have to have the voter personnel to work that place as well. And the statistics that we have got are that is that even with record turnout, 67% of our voters are voting early.
>> yes.
>> so we have got capacity to spare at these places and I personally would rather wait on that one until the next time around that we do a split and hopefully we can make a split that makes absolute accepts to those folks as opposed to a situation where we are just throwing out more money again for something that really is not a very good use of our resources at this time.
>> I think that's basically where I知 coming from on this thing. I mean, given that we perhaps we get this legislation passed, and our early voting continues to grow, but I am sympathetic to the fact that three quarters of the folks that vote in 375 do vote in the deer creek area. I would be willing to, you know, pretty soon move towards establishing some place for those folks to vote versus driving all the way over to volente. So we just --
>> see what the legislature does.
>> okay.
>> I will move approval.
>> discussion? All in favor? That passes by unanimous vote.
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Last Modified:
Wednesday, April 20, 2005 10:34 AM