Four Days of Early Voting Remaining in Maverick County, Texas at Eagle Pass Multi-Purpose Center
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2020
Maverick County registered voters have four days remaining of Early Voting from October 27-30, 2020 at the City of Eagle Pass Multi-Purpose Center, 480 S. Adams Street, in Eagle Pass, Texas.
The Eagle Pass Multi-Purpose Center will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. during the four remaining days of Early Voting, that is, Tuesday through Friday, October 27-30, 2020.
According to the Texas Secretary of State, Maverick County has a total of 33,050 registered voters with 7,676 voters casting ballots during Early Voting as of Sunday, October 25, 2020, a total of only 23.2% Early Voting turnout rate.
The State of Texas is experiencing a record voter turnout with 7,357,840 voters casting ballots during Early Voting as of Sunday, October 25, 2020, for an Early Voting turnout rate of 43.2%.
Maverick County is 20% below the statewide voter turnout rate during Early Voting as of October 25, 2020.
There are still 25,374 eligible voters in Maverick County that are able to cast a ballot during Early Voting from October 27-30 or during the regular Election Day on Tuesday, November 3, 2020.
According to Maverick County Judge David R. Saucedo, Maverick County ranked 250 out of 254 counties in Texas for Early Voting turnout with a dismal 23.2% rate. In other words, Maverick County is among the lowest counties with voter turnout rate during Early Voting while statewide a record voter turnout rate of 43.4% is being reported as of October 25, 2020.
While there are many reasons why Maverick County is reporting a low Early Voting turnout rate, a principal reason is the lack of local and county contested races on the November 3rd ballot. The more contested local and county races there are, the higher the voter turnout rate is because all the candidates are diligently working in bringing the voters to come out to vote for them. When there are none or few local contested races, there are fewer candidates campaigning in bringing voters to come out to vote.
For instance, the four Eagle Pass Independent School District Board of Trustees’ positions are unopposed with only the incumbents vying for re-election. The local school district Board of Trustees election is usually a high voter turnout election, but not when it is uncontested as this year’s election. The District Attorney election is uncontested as well as the County Attorney, Sheriff, County Tax Assessor-Collector, County Commissioner for Precincts 1 and 3, and five County Constable races. None of these candidates are actively campaigning since they are guaranteed a victory without any opponents.
During the March 3, 2020 Primary Election, all of these races were contested and Maverick County enjoyed a higher voter turnout rate than today.
There are two local governmental entities that do have contested races such as the Maverick County Hospital District and the Maverick County Water Control and Improvement District No. 1 Board of Directors. The local hospital district has three positions with only four candidates vying for these posts. The local water irrigation district has three positions with only five candidates competing for them. These races usually do not draw large voter turnout.
Perhaps the candidate most affected by the low voter turnout in Maverick County is Eagle Pass attorney Heriberto “Eddie” Morales who is seeking the Texas House of Representatives, District 74, and is counting on a large Maverick County voter turnout to prevail over his Republican Party opponent, Ruben Falcon, in the 12 counties within the district. Maverick County is the largest county with the most registered voters and Val Verde County (Del Rio) is the second largest county with the most registered voters in the district. Currently, Val Verde County has had a larger voter turnout than Maverick County during Early Voting because they have city, county, and district wide contested races. While Maverick County mostly votes Democratic, Val Verde County has a slight majority of Republican Party voters. Morales needs a large voter turnout in Maverick County to offset Val Verde County and other Republican leaning counties within the district to win.
All registered voters in Maverick County are highly encouraged to come out to vote during the four remaining days of Early Voting (October 27-30) and cast their ballots for the candidates of their choice. Make a plan to come out to vote and bring your family, parents, grandparents, friends, and co-workers to vote with you during Early Voting. Your vote is your voice.
