Citizen-prompted propositions drawing voters to the polls
A citizen-prompted proposition to end the use of red-light cameras in Arlington could be pulling more voters to the polls, with Arlington more than doubling the number of residents casting ballots in the first few days of early voting compared with May 2014.
By the end of the day Wednesday, the third day of early voting in the May 9 election, 3,772 Arlington voters had cast their ballots in a citywide election that also includes City Council seats and a four-way race for mayor. Last May, 1,574 residents had cast ballots in person by the end of the third day of voting.
A proposition in Colleyville to limit the scope of work on Glade Road could also be a draw for voters, with Colleyvile seeing 1,058 voters cast their ballots in person through Wednesday. That compares with 270 voters in the same period for May 2014, a huge increase.
Glade Road, one of the main east-west roadways for commuters, has become congested, and safety concerns have arisen. But residents who want to keep its “rural feel” started a petition to get a resolution to limit expansion of the road on the ballot. Critics have said that if the proposition is approved, it will make it difficult to do work on the road.
Jim Riddlesperger, a political science professor at TCU, said anytime there is a “real concrete issue,” like the red-light camera ban, voters are more likely to head to the polls.
“When it has to do with improving the quality of local services, improving the quality of local schools or is a demonstrable public issue, that is going to give people more incentive to go vote,” Riddlesperger said.
Voters in the rest of Tarrant County are deciding on bond propositions and sales and use taxes, picking their top candidates for the Tarrant Regional Water District and filling spots on city councils.
Overall, 12,066 people had voted in person in Tarrant County through Wednesday and 7,406 people had sent mail-in ballots.
Voting is going smoothly so far, said Frank Phillips, the elections administrator in Tarrant County, with no glitches or complaints about voter ID requirements.
“It is certainly not a heavy turnout at this point, but it is probably around the lines of what we normally experience in a May election,” Phillips said.
Early voting runs until Tuesday, and Election day is May 9.
Questions on early voting? Call the Tarrant County Elections Administration at 817-831‐8683.
This report includes material from the Star-Telegram archives.
Caty Hirst, 817-390-7984
Twitter: @catyhirst
Early voting locations
▪ Main early voting site: Tarrant County Election Center, 2700 Premier St., Fort Worth
Other sites:
▪ Bob Duncan Center, 2800 S. Center St., Arlington
▪ Elzie Odom Athletic Center, 1601 NE Green Oaks Blvd., Arlington
▪ Center for Community Service Junior League of Arlington, 4002 W. Pioneer Parkway
▪ South Service Center, 1100 SW Green Oaks Blvd., Arlington
▪ St. Joseph Catholic Church Parish Hall, 1927 SW Green Oaks Blvd., Arlington
▪ Tarrant County Subcourthouse, 700 E. Abram St., Arlington
▪ B.J. Clark Annex, Room 4, 603 Southeast Parkway, Azle
▪ Bedford Public Library, 2424 Forest Ridge Drive
▪ Colleyville City Hall, 100 Main St.
▪ Crowley ISD Administration Building, 512 Peach St.
▪ Euless Public Library, 201 N. Ector Drive
▪ Forest Hill Civic and Convention Center, 6901 Wichita St.
▪ All Saints Catholic Church Parish Hall, 200 NW 20th St., Fort Worth
▪ Diamond Hill/Jarvis Library, 1300 NE 35th St., Fort Worth
▪ East Regional Library, 6301 Bridge St., Fort Worth
▪ Griffin Subcourthouse, 3212 Miller Ave., Fort Worth
▪ Handley‐Meadowbrook Community Center, 6201 Beaty St., Fort Worth
▪ James Avenue Service Center, 5001 James Ave., Fort Worth
▪ JPS Health Center Viola M. Pitts/Como, Lower Level — Suite 100, 4701 N. Bryant Irvin Road, Fort Worth
▪ Northwest Branch Library, 6228 Crystal Lake Drive, Fort Worth
▪ Southside Community Center, 959 E. Rosedale St., Fort Worth
▪ Southwest Community Center, 6300 Welch Ave., Fort Worth
▪ Southwest Regional Library, 4001 Library Lane, Fort Worth
▪ Southwest Subcourthouse, 6551 Granbury Road, Fort Worth
▪ Summerglen Branch Library, 4205 Basswood Blvd., Fort Worth
▪ Tarrant County Plaza Building, 201 Burnett St., Fort Worth
▪ Worth Heights Community Center, 3551 New York Ave., Fort Worth
▪ Asia Times Square, 2615 W. Pioneer Parkway (corner of Pioneer Parkway and Great Southwest Parkway), Grand Prairie
▪ The REC of Grapevine, 1175 Municipal Way
▪ Haltom City Northeast Center, 3201 Friendly Lane
▪ Haslet Public Library, 100 Gammil St.
▪ Hurst Recreation Center, 700 Mary Drive
▪ Keller Town Hall, 1100 Bear Creek Parkway
▪ Kennedale Community Center, 316 W, Third St.
▪ Mansfield Subcourthouse, 1100 E. Broad St.
▪ Dan Echols Center, 6801 Glenview Drive, North Richland Hills
▪ North Richland Hills Public Library, 9015 Grand Ave.
▪ Richland Hills Community Center, 3204 Diana Drive
▪ River Oaks City Hall, 4900 River Oaks Blvd.
▪ Eagle Mountain‐Saginaw ISD Administration, Building 6 — Training Room, 1200 Old Decatur Road, Saginaw
▪ Southlake Town Hall, 1400 Main St.
▪ Watauga City Hall, 7105 Whitley Road
▪ Solana Office Complex Westlake Town Offices, 3 Village Circle
▪ White Settlement ISD Administration Building, 401 South Cherry Lane
This story was originally published April 30, 2015 at 11:32 AM with the headline "Citizen-prompted propositions drawing voters to the polls."