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Early voting in the Nov. 3 election is off to a slow start.
In Tarrant County, 5,798, or about 0.6 percent, of the county’s 921,000 registered voters cast ballots on 11 Texas constitutional amendments and local issues last week.Numbers across the state weren’t much better. The 15 counties with the most registered voters had a turnout of 0.88 percent from Oct. 19 through Sunday, according to the secretary of state’s office.Early voting continues through Friday. At this rate, it might be hard for the county to get the 8 percent voter turnout that would match November 2007, Tarrant County Elections Administrator Steve Raborn said. That was the last time constitutional amendments were the only statewide issues."It really depends on what’s on the ballot," he said. "Some years, we have some things that are a little more hot topics than other years."For example, the election in 2005 featured an amendment banning same-sex marriage, and it garnered 19.21 percent voter turnout in Tarrant County. The issues on the statewide ballot this time may seem tame, by comparison.They include an amendment to provide money for Texas universities seeking to become national research powerhouses and one to provide uniform standards and practices for property appraisal for taxing purposes."They’re certainly important. They were important enough for the Legislature to put them on the ballot, but they don’t seem to be a big draw so far," Raborn said.Of the 5,798 ballots cast in Tarrant County last week, 405 came through the mail. Six Tarrant County cities and two school districts have issues on the ballot. Among those are a half-cent crime tax reauthorization in Fort Worth and a $197.5 million bond package in the Arlington school district. Those issues drew the highest turnout during the first week of early voting, with 1,599 and 1,622 in-person ballots cast, respectively.Early voting sites
Voting hours are 8 a.m.-5 p.m. today and Wednesday and 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Thursday and Friday.Tarrant County Tarrant County Elections Center 2700 Premier St., Fort Worth Fort Worth Diamond Hill/Jarvis Library 1300 NE 35th St. Municipal Building 1000 Throckmorton St. Griffin Subcourthouse 3212 Miller Ave. Handley-Meadowbrook Community Center 6201 Beaty St. JPS Health Center Viola M. Pitts/Como 4701 N. Bryant Irvin Road Riverside Community Center in the Park 3700 E. Belknap St. Southside Community Center 959 E. Rosedale St. Southwest Subcourthouse 6551 Granbury Road Summerglen Branch Library 4205 Basswood Blvd. Tarrant County Plaza Building 201 Burnett St. Villages of Woodland Springs Amenity Building 12209 Timberland Blvd. Worth Heights Community Center 3551 New York Ave. Arlington Bob Duncan Center 2800 S. Center St. Elzie Odom Recreation Center 1601 NE Green Oaks Blvd. Fire Training Center 5501 Ron McAndrew Drive South Service Center 1100 SW Green Oaks Blvd. Tarrant County Subcourthouse 700 E. Abram St. Other cities Azle B.J. Clark Annex, Room 4 603 Southeast Parkway Benbrook YMCA 1899 Winscott Road Crowley Community Center 900 E. Glendale St. Euless Public Library 201 N. Ector Drive Forest Hill Mahaney Community Center 6800 Forest Hill Drive Grand Prairie Starrett Elementary School 2675 Fairmont Drive Grapevine Community Activities Center 1175 Municipal Way Haltom City Recreation Center 4839 Broadway Ave. Hurst Recreation Center 700 Mary Drive Northeast Subcourthouse 645 Grapevine Highway Keller Town Hall 1100 Bear Creek Parkway Kennedale Community Center 316 W. Third St. Lake Worth Sheriff’s Department North Patrol Division 6651 Lake Worth Blvd. Mansfield Subcourthouse 1100 E. Broad St. North Richland Hills Recreation Center 6720 NE Loop 820 River Oaks City Hall 4900 River Oaks Blvd. Saginaw City Hall 333 W. McLeroy Blvd. Southlake Town Hall 1400 Main St. White Settlement Recreation Center 8213 White Settlement Road Temporary locations These sites will be open only on the days listed.TodayEast Regional Library 6301 Bridge St., Fort Worth University of Texas at Arlington Hereford Center300 W. First Street
TRACI SHURLEY, 817-390-7641
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