Lubbock County voters may have to wait in line to do their civic duty in the upcoming election, even though there will be more voting places.
The challenge now is finding enough workers.
“Be patient, be patient, be patient because I’m expecting lines. We’re at over 194,000 registered voters now. It is climbing every day. I expect 140,000 people to show up at the polls,” said Roxzine Stinson, Lubbock County election administrator.
Numbers in Lubbock County:
- November 2020: 110,208 cast votes
- November 2016: 93,891 cast votes
- November 2012: 87,992 cast votes
Voting early might not be enough to avoid standing in line.
“No matter what, if it’s early or Election Day, they’re going to have to stand – probably wait in line,” Stinson added.
New voting laws mandate more voting places based on population. Stinson said her office will need to host 49 or 50 voting locations this year instead of 38. (Her plan is 50.) She’s an estimated 40 to 50 poll workers and four election judges short of being able to do that.
Schools play a vital role in making the elections run faster and better in Lubbock. And students can act as poll workers.
Schools play a role
Twelve of the 50 Election Day locations are schools. Another three are school administration buildings. Stinson is very grateful.
The biggest three local districts declared student holidays for that day. That’s the first time that’s ever happened, Stinson said. (At Lubbock-Cooper, the high schools will operate as normal and the kids in elementary and middle schools get the day off.)
Keith Bryant, superintendent for Lubbock-Cooper, agreed Election Day is not always a holiday.
“It just happened to fall that way this year,” Bryant said.
For Lubbock-Cooper, November 4 was going to be staff development day anyway and the following day is a big UIL academic competition at the elementary and middle school level.
“Typically, we have had school on Election Day,” said Richard Dean, assistant superintendent of administrative and student services at Frenship ISD. “I’ve seen other school districts in the past that have had Election Day as a student holiday simply because there could be high traffic on those days.”
Tiffany Taylor, spokesperson for Frenship added, “Since we have three propositions on the November 5th election for Frenship ISD, our board of trustees actually approved adjusting our district calendar.”
Frenship ballot initiatives
- Proposition A: Voter approved property tax rate for a teacher pay raise and for academic programs.
- Proposition B: $189.5 million for two new elementary schools and renovations at older schools.
- Proposition C: $10 million for computers and other electronic devices.
There’s another big role for the schools. The law allows students aged 16 and up to work at the poll locations.
Stinson said, “The law allows up to two students per location, which means we could have 100 students out there.”
If Stinson cannot find enough poll workers, then her office cannot open 50 locations.
“Starting in October, we gotta start deciding which locations do we not open,” Stinson said.
But they can all stay open if there are enough workers – roughly 400 total. There’s been progress. Stinson was still 100 workers short in early September.
“We send information to the schools,” Stinson said. “Two of our best partners have always been Estacado High school and Talkington [School for Young Women Leaders].”
Good for the students
Dean said, “We encourage our students to take part in all their civic duties. … The Texas Education Code requires us to call it an excused absence. So, it doesn’t count against the student for being a poll worker that day.”
Bryant said, “We enjoy hosting voting sites. I think it’s good educationally for our students to know that the district believes it’s important to vote. They see democracy in action. They learn that they have a voice when they grow up.”
Bryant said students also see voting as orderly and a “well-oiled machine.”
“We enjoy the public being able to see our facilities and use our facilities and we certainly feel like it’s our contribution to democracy,” Bryant said.
Dean said, “It makes it convenient for our families, for our staff, for the neighborhoods and the community around those schools to have it as a location to go and vote.”
The elections office does not pay rent for the polling places.
“Everybody’s been very gracious about opening their doors to us,” Stinson said.
How to sign up
“Generally, in any given election, about 10% of the workers do not show up on Election Day, and so you need enough that you have extras,” Stinson said.
“It is a time commitment. Training is 12 hours, and it is paid,” Stinson said.
For training, the pay is $10 per hour. For a poll worker it’s $13 per hour and an election judge is paid $15 per hour. Poll workers can also be volunteers.
“The polls are open 7 to 7,” Stinson said.
However, anyone in line by 7 p.m. still gets to vote. That means any of the polling locations might still operate long after the clock strikes 7.
“We had lines after 9 at Texas Tech,” Stinson said of the last presidential election. And that was not the only location last time still taking votes after 7 p.m.
“They’ll sign up with one of the three temp agencies the county has contracted with,” Stinson said.
The temp agencies are:
- ITSQuest Professional Staffing Solutions, 4505 82nd St #3, Lubbock, (806) 785-9100
- KT Black Services, 18 Briercroft Office Park, (806) 475-4553
- Onin Staffing, 4611 50th St A, (806) 686-3855
“They must be qualified voters of Lubbock County and be 18 years of age and older, unless it’s one of the students,” Stinson said.
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