Leander City Hall

Leander City Hall
(Leander City Hall, Statesman archive photo)

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Voting Your Ballot FAQS



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.
Travis County:  You may verify your registration and view your sample ballot at http://www.votetravis.com/vexpress/display.do. 
Williamson County:  :  You may verify your registration and view your sample ballot at http://apps.wilco.org/elections/default.aspx.  

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.
Travis County Democratic Party - http://www.traviscountydemocrats.org/
Travis County Republican Party - http://traviscountygop.org/

A list of school board candidates for ACC, Leander ISD, and Round Rock ISD along with their websites is available here -- http://leanderlocal.blogspot.com/2016/10/candidates-for-school-boards-acc.html.

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.