By LINDSAY LORENZ, Register Staff Writer
Gainesville Daily Register
Cooke County —
Cooke County Commissioners voted Tuesday to reduce the number of polling locations for November elections by lumping voters from several precincts into the same venues.
Registered voters in the county’s 25 precincts will now cast their ballots at 18 locations across the county, with most of the consolidation affecting residents in the Gainesville and Lindsay areas.
County Clerk Rebecca Lawson had originally proposed commissioners vote to consolidate additional locations so that the county could cut operating costs almost in half, reducing the cost to employ clerks and judges and secure locations from $9,000 to about $5,000 instead.
“Basically it saves money,” she said.
Each polling location costs about $500-600 to operate, and Lawson said some precincts have been combined for the last two or three elections, but remained individual for the last general election.
However, during the meeting commissioners expressed less concern about the cost and more in regard to the impact further consolidation could have on voter turnout.
“After hearing from the people in the county, I don’t want to run the risk of disenfranchising anyone or of having anyone not have the ability to not vote,” Cooke County Judge John Roane said. “...I believe if we combine precincts in some places, some people will not exercise their right to vote.”
Roane told commissioners that he would consider consolidating precincts in the Gainesville area because of their proximity to each other.
“The only thing that I’ve heard (from county residents), is if you have to combine any at all, it probably wouldn’t hurt to combine some of the Gainesville precincts,” he said.
Commissioners eventually agreed to consolidate precincts 1, 3, 5 and 30 in which voters will cast their ballots at North Central Texas College’s Gainesville campus.
In total, the four precincts contain about 4,000 registered voters, many of whom commissioners expect will participate in early voting.
Precincts 2, 34 and 35 will also combine to vote at First Christian Church on North Dixon Street, which together encompass about 350-400 registered voters.
Additionally, the 1,700 registered voters in Precincts 4 and 37 will vote at Hillcrest Church of Christ on O’Neal Street, and again, many are expected to vote early.
West of Gainesville, voters in Precincts 19 and 21 will consolidate to cast their ballots at Centennial Hall in Lindsay.
“Even though 21 has over 1,000 voters, 19 only has 308 and it would be a logical place to where they normally go vote anyway,” Roane said.
All other precincts in Cooke County will have an individual polling location.
As a result of the decision, Lawson will have to purchase more materials, including five judge kits and additional poll books.
Other precincts considered for consolidation included 6 and 9, 7 and 8, 12 and 14 and 15 and 17.
Those who are unsure of which precinct they reside in can contact Lawson or check the precinct number printed on their voter registration certificate.
Also during Tuesday’s meeting, commissioners approved an additional $9,725.88 to fund courthouse renovations.
The money will help correct bathroom floors in which drains are significantly higher than the rest of the surface.
“With the existing floor, they’ve had the drain in a high spot rather than the low spot,” Precinct 4 Commissioner Leon Klement said.
The tile was last replaced in the 1950s or 1960s, and construction workers discovered the issue while recently excavating tile.
Precinct 1 Commissioner Gary Hollowell was absent.
