Collin County's voter turnout in the recent constitutional amendment election was double the county's turnout during the last off-year election.
Election Administrator Bruce Sherbet said at Monday’s commissioners’ court meeting that about 14% of the county's registered voters participated in the recent constitutional amendment election. That's twice the amount of voters that hit the polls in the last off-year election — and triple the turnout from the 2017 election.
Sherbet said several voters cast their ballots in person on Election Day.
“Election Day was very heavy, it seemed like, especially after five,” he said.
Sherbet said the county needs to add polling places in areas that have experienced growth for the upcoming primary election, including Wylie and Prosper. Early voting for next year's primary elections is scheduled to start in late February.
The school district in Prosper had a $2.8 billion bond package on the ballot. More than half the voters voted against the $94 million bond for the athletic stadium. There was another school bond proposition that would have paid for expanding current sports facilities, and it didn't pass either. They did approve more than $2 billion for adding in, expanding to schools and money for a new performing arts center.
Sherbet said Prosper had a high voter turnout because of the bond.
“The Prosper area had quite a heavy turnout because they had their bond election on that generated interest, “ he said. “But that was a fast growing area.”
Collin County, which has more than one million residents, is third fastest growing county in the nation according to the U.S. Census. Voters in the county approved all five propositions in the county’s $683 million bond package. The propositions address various needs for the county’s growing population, including $380 million for road improvements.
Got a tip? Email Caroline Love at clove@kera.org.
Caroline Love is a Report For America Corps member for KERA News.
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