MARCH 3 ELECTION
GEORGETOWN — Election results from the March 3 party primaries may take a little longer to post now that Williamson County is centralizing a hand count of votes, commissioners heard this week.
Not everyone likes the plan, which could disenfranchise some voters limited by mobility or distance, according to Williamson County Democrat Party Chairwoman Kim Gilby.
Another change to the county’s election process is that on March 3, residents must cast their ballot at the polling location in their precinct where they are registered, but during early voting Feb. 17-27, they can vote at any location in the county, Williamson County commissioners were told Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the country’s elected representatives also began consideration of a tax abatement for another high-tech industry expected to locate in Taylor.
In the matter of the primaries, more than an hour’s discussion was devoted to the status of the election and recent changes to the county’s voting procedures.
County Elections Administrator Bridgette Escobedo briefed the court on one of her new duties: counting ballots.
Instead of ballots being tallied at the polling locations, they will be taken to a central site where they will then be counted, which is a much different process than what has been done over the last several years, she said “You might go to bed without knowing the election results and that’s OK,” Escobedo said. “Nothing nefarious will have happened or gone wrong. It’s just going to take us a little bit more time on election data process and counting those ballots.”
Many counties in Texas are grappling with the prospect of counting votes by hand, rather than a mechanical tabulation, after President Donald Trump and other GOP leaders expressed misgivings with electronic systems.
Critics of the plan, including Gilby, said residents may not have the opportunity to vote on Election Day if they work in one part of the county but have to return to the other end before polls close on March 3.
Proponents have responded voters have two weeks of early voting to cast their ballot wherever they want and only one day to vote in their precinct.
“The primary election is generally the election of the party so the (Democrat and Republican) parties dictate how Election Day is run according to their preferences,” Escobedo said.
Polls on Election Day are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Republican Party Chairwoman Michelle Evans also addressed the commissioners about the election, with Evans noting the change in voting procedures “reverts” to the tried-and-true processes the county used prior to 2013.
Gilby did not make her disapproval known during the Jan. 27 court session, but in a previous interview she said she and other Democrats are “adamantly opposed” to this modification in voting procedures.
However, both parties are required to agree with the changes in policy and procedure, so the Democrats have accepted the new provisions.
Included in the changes will be a decrease in the number of election sites.
In the past, Williamson County had more than 150 voting locations, but the plan for this election cycle cuts that number in half.
Currently, the county has established 21 voting locations.
“We’re going to bring the early voting dates, times and locations to (the court) next week,” Escobedo said.
In other business, commissioners approved a public notice for the court to consider a proposal regarding a tax abatement between the county and Compal USA Technology Inc. in Taylor. The company provides engineering, manufacturing and testing of electronic systems.
The major Taiwanese tech manufacturer that contracts with some of the largest companies in the U.S. is also setting up shop in Georgetown.
The global company will make racks for computer servers that are used in data centers by its subsidiary Compal USA Technology Inc. The company’s clients include big-tech names such as Apple, Google parent Alphabet Inc. and Round Rock’s Dell Technologies.
Much of the recent high-tech interest in eastern Williamson County is driven by the pending operational status of the massive Samsung Austin Semiconductor foundry in Taylor.
Commissioners will vote on the Taylor abatement March 3.
The tax abatement is for renovations and improvements of the Taylor Port Building related to the design and manufacture of electronics, officials said. The estimated cost of the improvements is around $200 million.
Commissioners also approved an agreement with Union Pacific Railroad for an underground crossing of fiber-optic cable in Taylor.
Commissioners Court will next meet at 9:30 a.m. Feb. 3 at 710 S. Main St.
Sessions can also be viewed online at wilcotx.gov/331/ Commissioners- Court.
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You might go to bed without knowing the election results and that’s OK.”
— Bridgette Escobedo, Williamson County elections administrator
