Here are answers to some frequently asked questions about
voting the ballot.
What is on my ballot?
The counties provide sample ballots so the voters can see
ahead of time what will be on their ballot.
Can I vote Straight Party?
Texas allows Straight Party voting. The Straight Party vote will be at the top of
the ballot. Note that local races such
as city and school district are not affiliated with the parties, so those races
must be voted on individually.
If I vote Straight Party,
can I vote for a different candidate in some races?
The answer is Yes. Voting
Straight Party provides a vote for any partisan race that is otherwise
blank. On electronic voting machines the Straight Party selection will automatically select the candidate for each race
for the selected party. In either case
the voter may make a different selection for one or more races without
effecting the other races. Note that
local races such as city and school district are not affiliated with the
parties, so those races must be voted on individually to cast a vote in those
races.
If I don’t know the
candidates for a race or understand the proposition, can I leave it blank?
You are not required to vote for every race or proposition
on your ballot. The races for which you
make a selection will be counted. Voting
machines will typically show you a summary page and warn you if you skip one or
more races or propositions giving you the option to make a selection, but you
are not required to make a selection before you cast your ballot. Getting your sample ballot and doing research
before voting will help you be informed before entering the polling place.
Can I use my Smart
Phone to research candidates or propositions from the polling booth?
Texas State law prohibits use of cell phones, tablets,
laptops, and other electronic devices in the polling place. You may bring paper notes into the polling
place, but you may not use electronic devices.
Where can I find
information about the candidates and propositions?
The political parties will provide information on their
candidates. Most candidates maintain a
website and other social media to provide basic information about themselves
and their position on the issues as well as contact information.
Propositions may have organizations that promote or oppose
them. Those organizations may have a
website, mail out information to voters, put up road signs, and run media
advertisements.
(City of Leander elections were held in May of 2016.)
Where can I find
endorsements and recommendations for candidates and propositions?
Most candidates will provide a list of endorsements on their
websites or upon request. Besides the
political parties, other organizations may endorse candidates or describe
platform issues they support. Many such
organizations while technically non-partisan, meaning that no political party
is named or directly affiliated, may have strong alignment with the positions
of a particular party.
If I marked the wrong
selection on my paper ballot in ink, how can I fix it?
Electronic ballot scanners can detect when more than one
mark or selection is made for a particular race. Generally those ballots are identified and election
officials will manually view the ballot to attempt to determine the intent of
the voter. Making it clear to a human
your intended selection will greatly assist the vote being counted as
intended in this circumstance. If the intent cannot be determined,
the vote in that race is discarded, but other votes on the ballot which are properly
cast are still counted.
If I lost my mail in
paper ballot or inadvertently ruined it, can I still vote?
You may vote provisionally on Election Day at the polling
place, and if the mailed ballot is not returned to the county by Election Day,
the provisional vote will count. If you
have the ballot, you may surrender it to cancel it at the polling location on
Election Day and vote normally. If time
permits, you may also appear at the county elections office to cancel your
mail-in ballot and vote regularly at a polling location.
What is the bar code
on the side of the paper ballot?
The bar code identifies the ballot and is used to ensure
that it was properly issued by the election officials. Do not remove or destroy the bar code. The bar code is not used to track an
individual voter’s cast ballot but to verify that it was properly issued to a
voter in the county and only to one voter.
