Friday last day to vote early; Election Day is Nov. 8

Early voting ends Friday, Nov. 4, for the midterm elections. If you’re planning to vote in person and haven’t cast your ballot by the time polls close Friday evening, you’ll have to wait until Election Day, which is Tuesday, Nov. 8. Election Day polls will be open from 7 a.m.-7 p.m.

In Burnet County, 11,181 of 36,363 registered voters had cast their ballot by the end of the business day Wednesday, Nov. 2. That’s 30.7 percent of those eligible to vote. Of those, 9,910 voted in person and 1,271 voted absentee. Wednesday’s total was 963 in person and 42 absentee. 

In Llano County, 37.38 percent of the 17,557 registered voters cast their ballot as of Wednesday. Of those, 5,964 voted in person and 598 voted by mail. On Wednesday, 526 people voted in person. 

According to the Texas Secretary of State’s numbers, 84.56 percent of Burnet County voters cast early ballots in the 2020 presidential election compared to 37 percent in 2018. In Llano County in 2020, 89.77 percent voted early compared to 44 percent in 2018. 

UNDECIDED RACES

Local races in Burnet and Llano counties were almost all decided in the March primaries, but a few regional state offices are up for grabs as well as statewide positions from governor to the Texas Board of Education. 

Llano County has one countywide race on its ballot. Running for the open seat for county treasurer are Republican Cheryl Regmund and Libertarian Joe Burnes.

Sunrise Beach Village residents will vote on forming an Emergency Services District to help fund the volunteer fire department. Horseshoe Bay voters will decide on an $8 million bond to build a new City Hall. 

TEXAS SENATE/HOUSE RACES

Contested Texas Senate and House of Representative races are on the ballot in Burnet and Llano counties. 

Voters in both counties will choose between Republican Pete Flores and Democrat Kathy Jones-Hospod for Texas senator in District 4.

In Burnet County, Republican Ellen Troxclair and Democrat Pam Baggett are vying for the open House seat for District 19. 

In Llano County, Republican incumbent Andres S. Murr and Democrat Jose P. Herrera are battling for the District 53 seat in the House.

U.S. HOUSE RACES

Burnet County residents will have a new member of the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, D.C. The seat is one of two that Texas gained after the 2020 census. 

Republican John Carter is unopposed for the District 31 seat. The county is currently represented by John Williams, who will be in a different district for the 2023-24 term if he wins, also due to redistricting and the two additional congressional seats. 

Llano County residents will keep their District 11 representative, August Pfluger, who is a Republican and unopposed.

EARLY VOTING SITES

During early voting, Burnet and Llano counties use voting centers, meaning residents in each county can vote at any polling site in their county. On Election Day, Llano County residents must vote in their home precincts.

Burnet County early voting sites

• AgriLife Auditorium, 607 N. Vandeveer St. in Burnet
• Texas Tech University at Highland Lakes, 806 Steve Hawkins Parkway in Marble Falls
• Joann Cole Mitte Memorial Library, 170 N. Gabriel St. in Bertram
• Granite Shoals Community Center, 1208 N. Phillips Ranch Road in Granite Shoals

The polls are open until 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 3, and from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 4.

Llano County early voting sites

• Llano County Library, 102 E. Haynie in Llano
• Kingsland Branch Library, 125 W. Polk in Kingsland
• Horseshoe Bay City Office, 1 Community Drive in Horseshoe Bay

Hours are 8 a.m.-5 p.m. 

ELECTION DAY VOTING

Polls in both counties will be open from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Nov. 8. Locations can be found on each of the county’s election webpages: Burnet County and Llano County. 

Sample ballots are available online for Burnet County and Llano County. 

editor@thepicayune.com