As voters head into the last day of early voting on Friday, turnout so far has been sparse.
Just 5% of Dallas County’s 1.4 million registered voters cast a ballot during the two-week early voting period as of Thursday, according to elections department data. In Collin County, turnout hovered just under 6% by Thursday.
The Nov. 4 election features 17 proposed changes to the state constitution.
Local issues appear on the ballot only for the cities of Duncanville, Farmers Branch, Glenn Heights, Mesquite and Sunnyvale in Dallas County. The independent school districts of Garland and Richardson also have tax and bond questions, respectively.
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Dallas County Elections Administrator Paul Adams said turnout has been higher in the portions of the county with local issues to decide. Since most residents will only see constitutional amendments on their ballot, that may explain the thin turnout, he said.
“I’ve always said all politics is local, it’s local issues that are going to drive turnout,” Adams said. “So while overall in the county it’s relatively light, there are certain areas of the county because of issues like school issues and local candidates that are slightly bumping up turnout.”
Rachel Mpala poses for a portrait after voting outside of the Oak Cliff Government Center in Dallas during the last day of early voting on Nov. 1, 2024.
Azul Sordo / Staff Photographer
On the last day of early voting Friday, voters can cast ballots at any voting location regardless of their home address from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Locations can be found here for Dallas County and here for Collin County. Polls will be open at the same time on Election Day Tuesday.
In Collin County, voters will bubble in their ballots by hand this election for the first time in decades. The County Commissioners Court voted earlier this year to return to paper ballots in line with an executive order from President Donald Trump.
Debi Klein has worked elections for over a decade and is an alternate judge at a Plano vote center. She had concerns the change to hand-marking would result in more mistakes and wait times at the polls, as it takes voters more time to fill out the ballots.
“I really expected there to be more issues from the voter side in marking them because they’re long, they’re hard to read,” Klein said. “I thought there would be a lot more issues with it, and there really hasn’t been.”
While turnout has been about as low as expected, Klein said, she hopes the pace prepares election workers and voters for larger elections using the new ballots.
Residents across Collin County will vote on creating an emergency services district to fund fire and ambulance services in unincorporated parts of the county. In Anna, voters will decide on a host of amendments to the city’s charter and in Princeton ISD, voters will elect two members to the district’s board of trustees.
Prosper voters will also decide on a $192 million bond package for roads and facilities, including a library and police headquarters, to keep up with a growing population.
“Municipal elections are the most important elections,” said Prosper Mayor David Bristol. “It affects your daily life. … Get out and vote so that you have a voice in the way your community grows.”