Early Voting in City Elections Begins Monday

Early voting in the May 7 San Angelo City Council and police chief election begins Monday, April 25, and continues through May 3.

Early ballots can be cast from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 25-29 or from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. May 2-3 in the Tom Green County Election Office on the first floor of the Edd B. Keyes Building, 113 W. Beauregard Ave. Early voting is also available at Wall Brethren Church at 7921 Loop 570 South.

For voters who want to use a paper ballot, those will be available only during early voting. Only electronic ballots will be used on Election Day.

On May 7, voters citywide will elect a police chief to a four-year term. Residents in City Council Districts 1, 3 and 5 will also elect their City Council representative for the next three years. Candidates for each office in the order they appear on the ballot are:

• Police chief – Tim Vasquez, Mike Hernandez, Jeff Davis, Frank Carter.
• District 1 – Bill Richardson, Trinidad Aguirre.
• District 3 – Daniel “Danny” Cardenas, Harold “Harry” Thomas.
• District 5 – Elizabeth Miller Grindstaff, Lane Carter, R.A. Cantrell, Martin Guinn.

Voters can access a map of City Council districts at cosatx.us/May2016.

Photo identification is required to vote in Texas. Any of these seven forms is acceptable:

• Texas driver’s license.
• Texas Election Identification Certificate (issued by the Department of Public Safety).
• Texas personal identification card (issued by DPS).
• Texas concealed handgun license (issued by DPS).
• U.S. military identification card containing the person’s photo.
• U.S. citizenship certificate containing the person’s photo.
• U.S. passport.

With the exception of the U.S. citizenship certificate, the identification must be current or have expired no more than 60 days before being presented for voter qualification at the polling place.

Voters who are physically unable to enter a polling place may vote curbside. During early voting, election officials ask that such voters call 325-659-6541 beforehand and advise they will need curbside service, though that is not required.

Ballots by mail may still be requested, but an Application for Ballot by Mail must be completed. Applications are available at voteTomGreenCounty.org or can be mailed to the voter to complete. Completed application must be received by the Election Office by April 26 by fax (325-657-9226), by mail (113 W. Beauregard Ave., San Angelo, Texas, 76903, Attn: Early Voting Clerk), or in person by the voter making the request. Once early voting begins April 25, the application cannot be delivered in person.

Voters have an option to receive a ballot for any election held during the year, but they must mark “Annual Application” on the application. Annual applications are valid only for a calendar year, so voters who filed one in 2015 must complete a new application for 2016.

For more information, visit voteTomGreenCounty.org or cosatx.us/elections.