Round Rock reports highest voter turnout in Williamson County, still below last election turnout

Round Rock reports highest voter turnout in Williamson County, still below last election turnout

By Kelsey Wilkinson Wednesday, 06 May 2009

May 5 marked the end of early voting for the available school board and city council seats in Round Rock.  Williamson County reported that 25 percent of early voters cast their ballots at the four Round Rock early voting locations, more than any of the other Williamson County cities.

Although Round Rock locations can claim the highest voter turnout in this election, turnout as a whole is down.  During the May 2008 election, Round Rock locations reported that 1,987 voters arrived at the poll. This year, there were only 1,351.

“We wanted to get at least what we had in the past,” said Rick Barron, election administrator for Williamson County. “We hoped for a bounce from what happened in November, but there has been a significant reduction in participation. It’s unfortunate because there are several candidates in each contest and the people that are running for office will have control over a lot of money.”

Barron said they cannot attribute the lower turnout to any specific cause, but he suggested voter apathy as a potential reason.  He also noted that when there is one particular issue that directly affects members of a community, turnout is generally higher and there may not be issues of that caliber for many voters this election cycle.

“Our office is here to administer elections, but it is the job of the candidates and municipalities to encourage people to vote,” he said.

Barron added that the trend is to see about 60 percent of voters arrive during early voting and they do not expect to see a spike on Election Day.

There is still an opportunity for those who missed early voting to cast their ballot.  Election Day is May 9 and polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.  Reference the Community Impact Election Guide to see who is running or visit www.wilcogov.org for a list of polling locations.