‘We are expecting lines’: Election Day patience encouraged with paper ballot system

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - Tuesday is Election Day and all throughout the country voters are getting ready to cast ballots, if they have not already.

In Lubbock County, polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. Those with the Lubbock County Elections Office suggest getting to the polls as early as possible.

RELATED LINK: Find polling locations and sample ballots here

A little less than 57,000 people have cast an early ballot in the county. More than 188,000 are registered, according to the elections office.

Workers are expecting somewhere between 25,000-and-30,000 voters to show up Tuesday. So long lines are expected at many polling locations.

On top of that, voters may need some extra time this year because the office is introducing a new step: paper ballots.

”It takes just a little bit longer to vote now with the paper-based system,” said Roxzine Stinson, Lubbock County elections administrator. “But we are expecting lines because so many people have waited until Election Day. And that’s normal, it’s the norm, so.”

Voters will check in as usual with a photo I.D., then they will be given an access code.

After that, they are given a ballot paper. Then, voters can fill out their ballots electronically.

Once done filling it out, they can proof the ballot before printing. Even after a ballot has been printed, voters can check to see if everything looks OK again.

That printed sheet will then be given to a ballot counter, which is the most important step in assuring the vote is cast.

”You do not get to take it home. Because that paper is our audit, that’s for our back-up audit for recounts or anything else that comes along,” Stinson said. “So if you take it home, you’ve lost your vote, your vote didn’t count.”

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