A number of important state and national races will be decided Tuesday in the 2022 Mid-term Election, but there are also issues critical to Liberty County voters on the ballot, including a school bond for Cleveland ISD, a school tax rate change for Liberty ISD, new trustees for Tarkington ISD, and the election of a justice of the peace.
So far, 12,696 of the 49,827 registered voters in Liberty County have cast their ballots in the two weeks of early voting, which ended on Friday. That number is down from the last mid-term election in 2018 when 14,148 people voted in early voting.
“During the first week of early voting, everybody was voting and the numbers were looking great, like we might hit a new record. Then it dropped off during the second week of early voting. Apparently, early voting is down across the state,” said Liberty County Elections Administrator Klint Bush. “Early voting should be up. We have given people more early voting opportunities. We have a whole two weeks of early voting and there will still be people who say they didn’t know about it.”
One explanation for the drop in early voting this year is that there are fewer local races up for grabs. The only contested local race is for Pct. 2 Justice of the Peace and the candidates are Ronnie Davis (Democrat) and Jimmy Belt (Republican).
The highest concentration of early voters has been at the Dayton Community Center – 4,751 ballots cast. Second to Dayton is the Cleveland Civic Center where 4,173 people voted early. The Jack Hartel Building in Liberty was third – 2,496. Last, but not least, is Hardin City Hall – 1,276.
Those locations were the only four places for early voting. However, on Election Day, Nov. 8, Liberty County voters can cast their ballot at ANY of these voting centers:
- Devers School: 201 Chism St., Devers, Texas 77538
- Hull Daisetta High School: 117 N Main St., Daisetta, Texas 77533
- Raywood, Sacred Heart Church, 3720 FM 160 North, Raywood, Texas 77582
- Jack Hartel Building: 318 San Jacinto St., Liberty, Texas 77575
- Westlake ESD 2 Fire Department: 8704 FM 1409, Dayton, Texas 77535
- Douglas School Gym: 900 Sam Wiley Drive, Cleveland, Texas 77327
- Romayor Baptist Church: 307 FM 2610, Cleveland, Texas 77327
- Hardin City Hall: 142 CO RD 2010, Liberty, Texas 77575
- HI- Way Tabernacle: 108 CR 2250, Cleveland, Texas 77327
- Cleveland Civic Center: 210 Peach St, Cleveland, Texas 77327
- Sante Fe Admin Building: 1680 RD 3549, Cleveland, Texas 77327
- Plum Grove City Hall: 9485 Plum Grove Rd., Cleveland, Texas 77327
- Dayton Community Center: 801 S. Cleveland St., Dayton, Texas 77535
- Kenefick Southern Baptist Church: 3536 FM 1008, Dayton, Texas 77535
- Tarkington Prairie Baptist Church: 25 CR 306, Cleveland, Texas 77327
Unlike previous elections, where voters had to remain within their own precincts, Liberty County voters can now vote at any location in the county.
Ballots are not printed in advance as in previous years. Instead, they are printed at any voting center based on the specific address and precinct where the person lives. For example, a person who lives in the Daisetta area (Pct. 2) can vote in Dayton, Cleveland or any other Liberty County voting center, and their ballot will be the same as if they had voted at the polling locating near their home.
Polls will be open Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. As long as you are standing in line by 7 p.m., you will be allowed to vote even if there is a line.
Election results will be posted Tuesday night by Bluebonnet News at https://bluebonnetnews.com/ and on the Bluebonnet News Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/bluebonnetnews/
You can also watch the live count of the vote on the Liberty County Elections YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lo2Sa9M0874