https://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/news/2016-10-31/travis-county-voting-boom-means-extra-booths/

Travis County Voting Boom Means Extra Booths

By Richard Whittaker, October 31, 2016, 4:00pm, Newsdesk

Early voting turnout isn't just high; it's so high that the Travis County Elections Division has opened a major new mobile early voting location in North-Central Austin, the epicenter of local electoral excitement.

Voting numbers so far have broken all previous records. As of Sunday, 220,001 ballots had been cast in Travis County (203,891 in person, 16,110 mail-in). Compare that to 156,503 first week votes in 2008, and 117,187 in 2012.

To handle part of that increased engagement, this morning the county set up shop at a new early voting location: the Greater Austin Merchants Cooperative Association (GAMA) Center, 8801 Research Boulevard, next to the Salvation Army Thrift Store.

GAMA was always intended to be on the list of mobile voting locations. However, most mobile sites are for one day only, intended to either serve more remote areas of the county or communities with specific needs, such as assisted living centers or apartment complexes for seniors. The GAMA location will be open for the remaining five days of early voting, from 10am to 5pm.

The expansion was a prescient decision designed to relieve pressure on two of the busiest polling stations, both of which are facing extraordinary turnout.

In recent election cycles, the Randalls at Research and Braker has been the top voting location in Travis County. Take just the first five days of early voting: In 2008, the site saw 9,952 voters in that period. There was a slight drop in the next presidential election, down to 8,606, but this year set a new record turnout of 11,312 voters.

That's nothing compared to the nearby Ben Hur Shriner at Rockwood and Anderson. As the neighborhood polling place for much of Crestview, Allandale, and Shoal Creek, it's always had high turnout – 6,336 in the first five days in 2008, and 5,128 in 2012. But even with increasing the number of booths from eight to 30, it's been swamped, with 13,025 in-person ballots cast by close of business Friday.

The location is also significant, since GAMA will be the closest voting location for poorer and heavily Hispanic neighborhoods like North Austin, North Burnet, Quail Hollow, and Gracy Woods. If the site sees a significant turnout, especially in demographics with historically low registered voter participation, it may be a factor in future polling place selection.

For a full list of fixed and early voting locations, visit www.traviscountyclerk.org.

Lastly, want to make a few bucks next week? The county clerk’s office is looking for additional Election Day workers to help around the polls. Interested parties should call 512/854-4996 by Friday afternoon to set up an appointment and get registered. Pay is $10 per hour. Obviously you’ll need to clear your schedules on Nov. 8.

For more election coverage, including news, voter info, and our endorsements, visit www.austinchronicle.com/elections.