Early voting off to slow start
Election time has come again locally, with registered voters living within the boundaries of the Wills Point ISD able to cast their ballots to fill three places on the district’s board of trustees.
Early voting numbers after two days of voting (which began April 23) show that 83 ballots have been cast.
That number is markedly lower than either of the past two May election cycles. In 2016, 142 ballots were cast during the first two days of early voting. Due to the presence of a $36.2 million bond package, voting numbers ballooned to 402 votes cast during the first two early voting days in 2017.
Places open on the WPISD ballot include:
-Place 1: Ray Thomason, the holder of Place 1 on the board since 2006, was among the first filers in this year’s election cycle. Thomason will have one challenger for a new three-year term on the board with political newcomer Tony Cooper throwing his hat into the ring.
-Place 2: The WPISD will be guaranteed at least one new face as current board president C.W. Wilson, the holder of Place 2 since 2006, declining to file for re-election. Candidates that returned paperwork for Place 2 include newcomers Cory Shidler, Betty Carper and Jason Groom.
-Place 3: Incumbent Jeff Etheridge, the holder of Place 3 since 2015, was the first candidate to return paperwork declaring his intent to seek a new three-year term. Etheridge has since been joined by two political newcomers on the ballot with Philip McDonald and Clay Deen each returning paperwork before the close of filing Feb. 16.
Voting
Early voting at the Wills Point Administration Office (338 W. N. Commerce St.) will run through May 1. Voting hours will be from 7:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. throughout the rest of the early voting period
Election Day is scheduled for Saturday, May 5. Voting will run from 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. at three locations within the borders of the WPISD.
Locations of polling places on election day are set to include:
-The Wills Point Community Center located at 307 N. 4th St.
-The Elmo Volunteer Fire Station located at 12777 FM 2728
-The Life House Fellowship (Myrtle Springs) located at 199 VZCR 3448
Persons eligible to vote include persons that are registered to vote that live within the Wills Point Independent School District. Election officials stressed that “You do not have to reside within the Wills Point City limits to vote in the Wills Point ISD School Board Election.”
Top vote getters for all three places will be sworn into office at the May WPISD Board of Trustees meeting. The board will follow the swearing in of each newly elected official with the annual restructuring of the board that includes the selections of board president, vice-president and secretary.
