CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — One county in the Coastal Bend is feeling the strain from a new House bill that extends the hours of early voting locations.
However, providing that service has some drawbacks.
Election leaders in San Patricio County have had to cut back half of their locations because they don't have the resources to staff all of them.
Cities throughout San Patricio County that have experienced this are Odem, Taft, Gregory and Ingleside.
San Patricio County Election Administrator Pam Hill said that HB 1217, which gradually expands the hours of early polling locations has already seen its share of complaints.
"I had to go from eight locations, which four of those are mobile, to four locations because of the county being 55 miles across from one side to the other," she said.
Hill said the HB 1217 gives residents a limited opportunity to go out to vote early.
"We've gone from allowing these voters that have had two or three days opportunity to vote to having no days of opportunity," she said.
Hill said resident's have already voiced their frustrations, with some saying they will have to take off work to go and vote. Those in smaller communities around the county will also feel the loss of those mobile polling locations.
"People in my church in Odem complain that they are not going to have a place in Odem to go and early vote," she said.
If you frequent the Odem Public Library, then you've probably run into local librarian Donna Hutchins over the years. The Library used to serve as an early voting center three years ago, but moved to a new facility that offered more space. Since then, the community has relied on mobile poling sites for a convenient place to vote.
"Sometimes the old people are not ok with the road construction, If you've been down here, you've seen it on both sides. There just not going to do it," she said.
Hutchins said the new law takes away more from voters than some may realize.
"The things that they are concerned about is that are people going to skip voting because of the inconvenience? When they get over there are they are not going to be as quite as comfortable with voting because they're already in a bad mood," she said.
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