LONGVIEW, Texas — Election Day is Tuesday and Gregg County has already seen an increase in early voters at the polls.
"For a constitutional amendment election, we’ve had an excellent turnout," said Jennifer Briggs, Gregg County Election Administrator.
Gregg County residents have come out in numbers for early voting, a trend that Briggs expects to continue on Election Day tomorrow. Two years ago, early voter turnout was less than 2%. This year, it rose to almost 8%, largely because of some of the big-money issues on the ballot.
"Well we have the Pine Tree ISD has a bond election, and Longview ISD is having a bond election. Plus, Gregg County has a bond election for a new parking garage structure," Briggs said. "So we have several of those on the ballot, and also emergency services in the south of Gregg County. So I think those issues are really bringing people out."
One topic on the polls tomorrow is Longview ISD's nearly 360-million-dollar bond. The district understands that it’s a hefty price tag, but they say they need it to revamp their high school and a lot of its facilities so their students are in the best possible position to learn and grow.
"So, in our district, we offer so many innovative programs, and we have the possibility to offer even more of these innovative programs, we just don’t have the space. And that’s one thing this bond would allow us to do, continue advancing and equipping our students for the 21st century skills they need," Wayne Guidry, Longview ISD assistant superintendent of finance.
If approved, the bond will mostly take care of safety and security improvements within the district, as well as finance a new career & technology education center, and new early childhood facilities. No matter the outcome, Longview ISD is happy to see East Texans using their right to vote.
"We’re already excited about that because we’ve seen so many more people come out and vote over the last two weeks, we’ve already superseded our previous election numbers, and so it’s just exciting to see people getting involved in the electoral process," Guidry said.
Election Day is tomorrow, don't forget your photo ID and head to the nearest poll.