Ditch your phone, do your homework

Are you planning to vote in person in the March 5 primary? Or in any election this year? If so, I know you want to keep the process simple and the line as short as possible. So as a poll worker for several years — and remember, we are all volunteers — I’d like to offer a couple of key reminders. 

First, put away those cell phones! You may not think of them as recording devices, among other functions, but they are. As such they are ILLEGAL under state law inside the polling place. Do you as a voter want someone recording or photographing you casting your ballot? I didn’t think so. When poll workers insist you stow the phone away, they are protecting you and every other voter, and seeing that you follow the law. 

Wait, you say, my notes on how to vote are on my phone. Sorry, we say, no exceptions. But remember, voting is like an open-book test — all the answers are available in the form of sample ballots, and you can take them into the polls. 

So where can I see my sample ballot, you ask. They are all on the Parker County Elections Administrator’s website, Democratic and Republican versions. (https://www.parkercountytx.com/118/Elections) The site tells you how to figure out what precinct you live in and thus what’s on your particular ballot. Or you can drop by the elections office and get your sample ballot in person. 

Finally, yes, you can bring your paper notes into the poll site — a sample ballot printout, personal notes, postcards from candidates, anything on paper to help your memory. And if you get to your poll site and forget your notes, we’ll have sample ballots on hand right there that you can review before you vote. Just no cell phones!

For more help: The Elections Office is in the sub-courthouse on Santa Fe Drive, just across from the Weatherford post office. The staff there is very helpful.

Thanks, and see you at the polls.

- Libby Afflerbach
Parker County