Twenty Election Day vote centers had to be replaced since September, and commissioners vote Tuesday on the new list

Twenty of the buildings Dallas County picked in September to serve as Election Day vote centers are no longer available, and the Commissioners Court is set to approve their replacements Tuesday, according to the court's Oct. 20 agenda packet.

The court designated its Nov. 3 Election Day locations on Sept. 1. Since then, a briefing from Elections Administrator Paul Adams says, 20 facilities dropped out, and the department found the "closest, suitable matches" to take their place. The packet does not list which sites were swapped.

Instead it attaches a complete, updated roster, so voters planning to vote on Election Day should check the county's current list rather than an older one.

That roster, Attachment B, names 444 vote centers across the county, each with a cap on the number of clerks assigned. About half of them, 218, carry Dallas addresses. Others are in Irving, Garland, Mesquite, Grand Prairie, Richardson, DeSoto, Duncanville and other cities.

Dallas County uses countywide polling places, the briefing notes, which is also why election judges do not have to live in a particular precinct.

More clerks at two busy sites

Two locations would get extra staff. The Cozby Library and Community Commons in Coppell would go from 11 clerks to 20 at the request of its presiding judge, and the North Garland Branch Library from seven to nine.

The same item would approve a consolidated list of presiding and alternate election judges for the term that runs through July 31, 2027. The county first appointed judges on Aug. 4 with a partial list that left some spots open. The updated list still shows some alternate positions as vacant, and the briefing says both parties remain committed to helping fill future openings.

County workers as poll workers

A second elections item would formally let county employees serve as election workers and pay them $26 an hour no matter which job they are given.

The Elections Department keeps a pool of workers for emergency appointments, which happen when a vacancy opens after the 20th day before an election. It also uses technicians, phone bank staff, regional site workers, inspectors and equipment delivery drivers on Election Day, and some of those jobs have historically gone to county employees, the briefing says.

Employees who sign up must be able to work from 6 a.m. until about 10 p.m. or until voting is finished, attend the training for their assignment and follow leave policies if the shift overlaps their regular hours. They cannot be an employee, relative, campaign treasurer or campaign manager of an opposed candidate on the ballot, or have a final conviction for an election offense.

Those working at a vote center must be registered Dallas County voters, or bilingual and registered in an adjacent county.

The department describes the cost as minimal and dependent on how many employees take part, putting it at a $1-an-hour increase per employee. If the court approves, the department plans to ask employees about their interest and schedule training for the Nov. 3 election.

The Commissioners Court meets at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the Commissioners Courtroom at 500 Elm Street. Early voting in the Nov. 3 general and joint election begins Monday.

Sources

dallascounty.civicweb.net

dallascounty.civicweb.net