I've talked to more than half a dozen Denton County civic groups about Voting Centers on Election Day over the last few months ranging from Denton to Flower Mound. Here's what I've learned:
• In all but one audience, at least one person had been redirected from a polling location on Election Day. In most groups, 4 or 5 people raised their hands. Many more hands went up when I asked if they knew others who had been turned away from a polling location.
• Overwhelmingly, my listeners were shocked to learn that this does not happen in 96 other counties with 83%+ of Texas voters.
• They were amazed that fixing this problem is as simple as the Denton County Commission certifying the county as a voting center county.
• The most frequent question: why don't they act?
• The common reaction when I tell them it's because the Denton County Republican Party chair won't approve the plan: they shake their heads in disbelief.
There's a clear trend:
• Most voters don't know that voters in our county don't enjoy the same
voting rights as voters in 96 other counties.
• When they find out, they don't like it.
• They find the reasons the commissioners and the county GOP give publicly for refusing to approve Voting Centers to be laughable.
• They want the county commissioners they elected to fix this problem.
(They're also shocked to learn that the GOP candidate for Texas House 64, Andy Hopper, wants to eliminate countywide voting on both Early Voting and Election Day statewide.)
I'm booking speaking engagements to more groups for the summer and fall. If you are a member of a civic group, neighborhood club, church congregation, professional association or any other group that cares about protecting their right to vote in Denton County, talk to me about speaking to your group.
Your friends will find it enlightening. My slide presentation is only 15 minutes long, but I'll stay till every question is answered. Email me at votingcentersnow@gmail.com.
Thanks for your interest
Jane Scholz
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