The Herald-Zeitung

Comal County Commissioners voted Thursday to open the polls in Canyon Lake for early voting in this year’s constitutional election, but only for a day.

Voters in the Canyon Lake area can cast ballots from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28, at the Community Resource and Recreation Center, 1941 Farm-to-Market 2673.

Since early voting began Monday, the county clerk’s office reported that 373 voters cast ballots in the constitutional election, including 80 from the Canyon Lake and Spring Branch areas.

The county’s primary polling place at the Comal County Courthouse, 100 Main Plaza, will continue to be open for early voting from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. until Oct. 30.

The day-long opening of a Canyon Lake polling place comes after Canyon Lake resident Don Johnson told Commissioners Thursday he had unsuccessfully attempted to vote at the county clerk’s satellite office in Sattler earlier in the week.

He asked that an additional polling location be opened in the county, citing a state law that requires a general-use county clerk’s office to function as a polling place during an election.

Comal County Clerk Joy Streater explained that the Sattler location is a limited-use office, and not legally required to be open for voting. Comal County Chief Civil Prosecutor Jennifer Tharp added that the county fire marshal said the building in Sattler was not properly equipped to serve as a polling location.

As a compromise, the Community Resource and Recreation Center building was chosen to accommodate Canyon Lake voters on Wednesday.

Along with one day of early voting in Canyon Lake, the county also will extend voting hours at the courthouse for the last two days of early voting.

Voting hours at the courthouse will now stretch from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 29, and from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 30.

Election Day is Nov. 3. Voters will be able to cast ballots at 22 polling locations.

Voters might also vote by mail-in ballot. Applications for mail-in ballots will be accepted through Tuesday, Oct. 27. Voters who want to vote by mail must write a letter with the following information: name, registered address, address to which ballot should be mailed, reason for wanting to vote by mail (65 or older, disability, out of town) and voter’s signature. For more information, call the Voter Registrar’s Office at (830) 221-1231.