With less than two weeks left to register to vote for the November 3rd election, county elections officials across the Coastal Bend are reporting a record number of people registering to do so and the number of people wanting to volunteer to work the polls on election day are on the rise as well.
"We've been fairly busy in reference to voter registration. we've gotten quite a bit of applications coming in," said Melissa de la Garza, the voter registrar of Kleberg County.
Election day is just a little over a month and a half away and already those whose job it is to administer those elections are seeing lots of surprising revelations.
"I do believe we are well staffed. We've actually had an overwhelming response because, actually, this political climate going on right now has actually increased the desire for us to find workers," said Kevin Stroud, Interim Election Administrator in Aransas County.
By workers, county elections officials mean paid volunteers who do everything from poll watching to running errands on election night.
"Right now, we're doing really good with volunteers. We've received very, very many applications. All of our polling places are fully staffed." Pamala Hill, Elections Administrator in San Patricio County.
"What's changed, obviously, on the surface is the demographics," said Richard Guerra, Elections Administrator in Jim Wells County
Richard Guerra, the elections administrator in Jim Wells county tells me those demographics are like a changing of the guard...a passing of the torch so to speak.
"With the potential risk, we've had people that have worked elections for years that kind of want to maintain their distance and rightfully so. We're looking at a lot younger group. We've been working with local professors, with government classes and things to try and fill those gaps. I don't think it's going to be as much of a challenge, as we have a different demographic," said Guerra.
Every county clerk and elections administration 3News spoke with echoed the same sentiments. There is a great deal of desire from the community to get involved this election year.
"I’ve been working for the county for 20 years and six as county clerk and this is the largest election and to have people that want to work the election is really satisfying, it really helps and it helps beyond measures that they don't even know. because the hardest thing is to find the judges." Stephanie Garza/Kleberg county clerk
When it comes to registering to vote, take a look at the numbers:
- More than 43,000 in san Patricio County.
- Aransas County up from 16,500 to more than 17,000
- Kleberg County, more than 18,300
- Jim Wells coming in with a big jump from 26,000 to more than 27,000
With all that in mind, county elections officials say the ballot will be lengthy. so study it well. know who and what you're voting for.