MCLENNAN COUNTY, Texas — Monday, Feb. 5 marks an important deadline in the 2024 primary election, it's the last day you can register to vote.
The purpose of the primary election is to narrow down the playing field of candidates. It requires voters to choose only one party to participate in its respective primary. However, it doesn't impact who you vote for in the general election.
One thing to know about this year's primary election is people who elect to vote in the Republican primary will have some propositions on the ballot. If you are voting in the Democratic primary, there are no propositions on the ballot this go around.
"These propositions, if you're voting in the Republican primary, it's more of an opinion poll," Jared Goldsmith, the McLennan County election administrator, explained. "If you're voting 'yes' for this proposition, that doesn't necessarily mean it's going to become law. It's more of a 'Is this how we want the party to move forward?'"
As the deadline to register to vote quickly approaches, Goldsmith said they've adjusted to the newer election laws in place and are staying busy preparing for the influx of voters that are expected.
"Because the President is on the ballot, that typically means that there's a higher turnout," Goldsmith said.
Goldsmith recommends voting early and not waiting until election day. It could make the process smoother for you, easier on the poll workers and possibly help election results turnaround quicker. Goldsmith also stressed that as a McLennan County resident, you can vote at any of the 43 voting centers in the county.
Last year, McLennan County had to adapt to a new state law that increased the number of voting centers to 43. Goldsmith hopes that the new requirement won't slow down the time it takes to get in results.
"I think we got them out pretty quick, all things considered," Goldsmith said. "I think a big reason was because we had added those 12 extra sites, so we had more that was coming in and it just took longer. We're going to try to plan around that and figure out a way to make it hopefully go a little bit quicker."
In the November 2023 election, McLennan County also implemented a new voting system and is now using scantron-style paper ballots. Goldsmith said it was a change necessary to meet requirements and is also cost-effective.
"State law dictates that every county has to have some kind of paper trail by 2026 and so we went with a system that we felt like was gonna be the easiest for the voters to learn, easiest to process and just most convenient and most secure as well," Goldsmith explained.
If you are interested in becoming a poll worker in McLennan County, reach out to your respective local party chair -- Goldsmith said that's where most of their volunteers stem from.
Bell County is also gearing up for the primaries. A county spokesperson said an audit of voting locations has been completed and they've also improved internal communications between election workers and the elections office.
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