Early voting starts Tuesday

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  • Early voting starts Tuesday
    Early voting starts Tuesday
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County officials have switched the regular polling places of the Erath County Courthouse and the Dublin County Annex to the Patrick Street Church of Christ at 630 N. Patrick Street in Dublin (above) and the Graham Street Church of Christ Family Center in Stephenville (375 N. Graham St.) The location changes were made to allow more spacing for social distancing while voting. Both locations will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Oct. 13 and Oct. 14 as early voting starts for the Nov. 3 general election. Sara Gann | Citizen staff photo

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Early voting in the Nov. 3 general election begins Tuesday, bringing several local, state and federal races for Dublin and Lingleville voters to decide upon.

Early voting has been moved to Patrick Street Church of Christ (630 N. Patrick Street)in Dublin and the Graham Street Church of Christ Family Center (375 N. Graham St.) in Stephenville by county officials to ensure more space for social distancing during the election proceedings.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday (Oct. 13 and Oct. 14) and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Oct. 15 and Oct.16, Oct. 19 - Oct. 23 and Oct. 26 – Oct. 30. (The polls will also be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Oct. 24 at the Graham Street location.) On election day (Nov.

3), the polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at both of the previous locations as well as the Bluff Dale Community Center, the Cornerstone Assembly of God,

Huckabay Community Center, Lingleville School Building, Morgan Mill Community Center, Selden Community Center, Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center and Texas Bank in Stephenville.

Dublin voters have two local elections to evaluate: a special option to allow “the legal sale of all alcoholic beverages including mixed beverages” and City Council place 4 in which incumbent Ben Pate is facing Eric Bullard.

If approved, the special option will allow the sale of alcohol at any type of business with special permits and subject to a city ordinance, which would have to be decided and approved by the city council following a successful election.

The special option liquor election was originally supposed to be decided in the May elections which were postponed due to shelter and social distancing restrictions. The option was put on to the ballot after organizers gathered 300 qualified signatures of residents within the city limits from among the 425 signatures received. (A total of 265 signatures were required for the election to be held.)

Lingleville voters are deciding in one contested school board race locally: Position 1, in which incumbent Sonya Koke is facing challenger Tammy Kellar. (Fellow school board members Justin Wilson, Larry Griffin, Brent Hallmark and Tyler Howle are running unopposed for their positions.)

Dublin and Lingleville voters also have the following elections to decide:

Federal

President

■ Donald J. Trump/Michael R. Pence (Rep.)

■ Joseph R. Biden/Kamala D. Harris (Dem.)

■ Jo Jorgensen/Jeremy “Spike” Cohen (Lib.)

■ Howie Hawkins/Angela Walker (Green)

U.S. Senator

■ John Cornyn (Rep.)

■ Mary “MJ” Hegar (Dem.)

■ Kerry Douglas McKennon (Lib.)

■ David B. Collins (Green)

U.S. Representative, District 11

■ August Pfluger (Rep.)

■ Jon Mark Hogg (Dem.)

■ Wacey Alpha Cody (Lib.)

State

Railroad Commissioner

■ James “Jim” Wright (Rep.)

■ Chrysta Castaneda (Dem.)

■ Matt Sterett (Lib.)

■ Katija “Kat” Gruene (Green)

Chief Justice, Supreme Court

■ Nathan Hecht (Rep.)

■ Amy Clark Meachum (Dem.)

■ Mark Ash (Lib.)

Justice, Supreme Court, Place 6

■ Jane Bland (Rep.)

■ Kathy Cheng (Dem.)

Justice Supreme Court, Place 7

■ Jeff Boyd (Rep.)

■ Staci Williams (Dem.)

■ William Bryan Strange III (Lib.)

Justice Supreme Court, Place 8

■ Brett Busby (Rep.)

■ Gisela D. Triana (Dem.)

■ Tom Oxford (Lib.)

Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 3

■ Bert Richardson (Rep.)

■ Elizabeth Davis Frizell (Dem.)

Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 4

■ Kevin Patrick Yeary

■ Kevin Patrick Yeary (Rep.)

■ Tina Clinton (Dem.)

Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 9

■ David Newell (Rep.)

■ Brandon Birmingham (Dem.)

Member, State Board of Education, District 14

■ Sue Melton-Malone (Rep.)

■ Greg Alvord (Dem.)

There are also uncontested races for Shelby Slawson for State Representative, District 59; Bruce Williams for Justice, 11th Court of Appeals, Place 2; W. Stacy Trotter for Justice, 11th Court of Appeals, Place 3; and Alan Nash for District Attorney.

The ballots also feature a contested race for Erath County Sheriff in which Sheriff Matt Coates is running against Paul Tyus. Tyus was charged by the Erath County District Attorney’s Office last month with Fraudulent Use or Possession of Identifying Information (50 or more units), and Tampering With a Governmental Record after allegedly including forged signatures in his petition to be included on the ballot.

No formal decision has been made yet in the charges, and the charges were made too late for his name to be withdrawn from the ballot.

Erath County will be practicing recommended social distancing guidelines for the election and will be using a bleach solution to clean the polling locations and voting machines. Each voter will use a clean pen to sign in and be offered a Q-Tip to mark their ballot so the voter does not have to touch the machine. The use of masks by voters and poll workers is optional, but encouraged. County officials

County officials encourage those 65 or over or disabled to request a mail ballot from the Erath County Clerk’s Office. To request a ballot call 254-965-1444 or email the Elections Office at vote@co.erath.tx.us. The last day to submit an application for a ballot is October 23, 2020.

Curbside service will also be offered at the Graham Street Church of Christ for those that are unable to enter due to age, disability, or sickness.