Sarah Hustwit of McKinney feeds a sample ballot into a DS 200 tabulating machine in a practice run for the Nov. 4 general election.

The Tuesday, Nov. 4, general election ballot contains 17 proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution as well as a countywide election to create an emergency services district for rural residents of Collin County.

This election marks Collin County’s transition to hand marked paper ballots. A separate ballot will be printed for each voter and will then be fed into a DS200 tabulating machine after being marked.

“We just want voters to take their time and review their ballots before placing them into DS200s to be tabulated for this election,” Collin County Elections Administrator Kaleb Breaux said. “We are asking that the voters mark their choices clearly by completely filling in the oval to the left of their choice(s) on the ballot. If the voter has completely marked their ballot without issue, the DS200 will accept the ballot and thank the voter for voting.”

If there is an issue with a voter’s ballot, the DS200 will alert the voter and assist them in the adjudication process, Breaux said. “It is important for the voter to review the DS200 screen after depositing their ballot into the DS200 for tabulation.”

Collin County Elections has more than 40 polling places for early voting, open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 20, through Friday, Oct. 24; 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 26; and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 27 through Friday, Oct. 31.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 4, with polls open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and there will be 91 vote centers open.

Voters in line by 7 p.m. will be allowed to vote.

Curbside voting is available for persons unable to enter the polling place. Ask the judge for assistance or call or text the number posted on the curbside voting sign located at your vote center.

Early voting in Murphy is at the Murphy Community Center – Homer and Marie Adams Room, 205 N. Murphy Road, Murphy.

A voter must show acceptable photo identification at the polling location before the voter may be accepted for voting, unless the voter does not possess and cannot reasonably obtain one of the acceptable photo IDs or voter qualifies for an exemption.

The acceptable IDs include a Texas Driver License issued by the Department of Public Safety (DPS); Texas Election Identification Certificate issued by DPS; Texas Personal Identification Card issued by DPS; Texas Handgun License issued by DPS; United States Military Identification Card containing the person’s photograph; United States Citizenship Certificate containing the person’s photograph; or United States Passport (book or card).

With the exception of the U.S. citizenship certificate, the identification must be current or, for voters aged 18-69, have expired no more than four years before being presented for voter qualification at the polling place.

A person 70 years of age or older may use a form of identification listed above that has expired for any length of time if the identification is otherwise valid.

If a voter does not possess one of the forms of acceptable photo identification listed above, and the voter cannot reasonably obtain such identification, the voter may execute a Reasonable Impediment Declaration and present a copy or original of a supporting document.

Those documents include a government document that shows the voter’s name and an address, including the voter’s voter registration certificate; a current utility bill; a bank statement; a government check or a paycheck.

Other supporting documents include a copy of or original of a certified domestic birth certificate from a U.S. state or territory or a document confirming birth admissible in a court of law which establishes the voter’s identity (which may include a foreign birth document).

Initial results will be available on the Collin County Elections webpage for election results shortly after 7 p.m. on Election Night and will be updated periodically as tabulation continues. Final official results will not be available until the certification of the election by the government body involved.

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