Dallas-Fort Worth area early voting begins Monday

by Bill Baumbach of The Collin County Observer

Editor's note: The following is a guide to (mostly) Collin County elections. Consult your county's website for information on local elections.

Early voting in the 2009 municipal and school board elections begins Monday, April 27, 2009 and runs through May 5. Early voting locations for cities and schools that have contracted with the Collin County elections department can be found here.

Election day is Saturday, May 9. The polls will be open from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM.

Voters who live in Plano, and the larger cites in the county will find that voting in a local election is easy. There are no lines and since election day is on a Saturday, there is no need to miss time at work.

Unfortunately for many, voting in local elections in Texas can be very confusing and frustrating. Some folks will have to vote twice. For example, if you live in Lucas and in the Wylie ISD, you would have to go to the Lucas City Hall to vote for City Council, and then drive to Wylie to vote for school board. If you live in the City of Dallas, and Plano ISD, you will also have to vote in 2 separate locations.

Each school district, city, and water district establishes the Election Day polling locations for their elections. In order to save money, some City Councils and School Boards consolidate precincts into one polling place. For information about an election not listed here, contact the city secretary or school board office directly. Regardless of the election, the Election Day polls are always open from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM.

The Collin County elections department contracts with most, but not all of the cities and schools. If your city or ISD is not listed on the Election Department's site, then another county or your city may be conducting the election. If you are not sure where to vote, call the elections department at 972-547-1990.

I have listed below the local races I know of in Collin County. I may have missed a few that are not contracted with Collin County Elections. After each city or school district, I have noted who is actually running the election process.

Allen City Council, Place 1 Debbie Stout(I)

Allen City Council, Place 3 Joey Herald(I)

Allen City Council, Place 3 Kurt Kizer

Allen City Council, Place 5 Gary Caplinger(I)

Allen ISD, Place 1 Jayne J. Grimes(I)

Allen ISD, Place 2 Benny Bolin (I)

Allen ISD, Place 3 Jason Shepard

Allen ISD Bond: $119,435,000 for construction of school buildings.

Dallas City Council, Place 12 Ron Natinsky

City of Dallas Proposition 1: To amend the City Charter to prohibit the City from building a city owned hotel.

City of Dallas Proposition 2: To amend the City Charter to require the City to give public notice before financing a hotel, and to allow for a referendum on city financing of a hotel.

Frisco City Council, Place 1 Bob Allen

Frisco City Council, Place 1 Harold Colvin

Frisco City Council, Place 3 Patrick E. Fallon

Frisco City Council, Place 3 Rhonda K. Martin

Frisco City Council, Place 3 Phil Ramirez

Frisco City Council, Place 3 Hunt Reifschneider

Frisco ISD, Place 6 Buddy Minett(I)

Frisco ISD, Place 7 Cindy DePaolantonio(I)

Frisco ISD, Place 7 John Hoxie

Lovejoy ISD, Position 6 Elena Westbrook(I)

Lovejoy ISD, Position 6 Marianne Nevil

Lovejoy ISD, Position 7 Lynette MacDonald(I)

Lovejoy ISD, Position 7 Daris Nevil

McKinney City Council, Mayor George Fuller

McKinney City Council, Mayor Brian Loughmiller

McKinney City Council, Dist. 1 Randall Wilder

McKinney City Council, Dist. 1 Don Day

McKinney City Council, Dist. 1 Maurice Malvern

McKinney City Council, Dist. 1 Alonzo Tutson

McKinney City Council, Dist. 3 Travis Ussery, Jr

McKinney City Council, at-large Gilda Garza

McKinney City Council, at-large David Brooks

McKinney City Council, at-large Curtis Rath

McKinney ISD, Place 1 Maria McKinzie (I)

McKinney ISD, Place 2 Mark Rude(I)

Plano City Council, Place 2 Ben Harris

Plano City Council, Place 2 Susan Plonka

Plano City Council, Place 4 Lissa Smith

Plano City Council, Place 6 (Mayor) Phil Dyer

Plano City Council, Place 6 (Mayor) David Fincannon

Plano City Council, Place 8 Lee Dunlap(I)

Plano City Council, Place 8 Greg Myer

Plano City Council, Place 8 Imran Khan

Plano City, Proposition 1: $11,368,000 for public safety improvements.

Plano City, Proposition 2: $8,000,000 for technology improvements to city facilities.

Plano City, Proposition 3: $34,754,500 for street improvements.

Plano City, Proposition 4: $1,750,000 for library facilities.

Plano City, Proposition 5: $48,650,000 for parks and recreation improvements.

Plano City, Proposition 6: $24,100,000 for recreation centers.

Plano City, Proposition 7: $3,500,000 for overpass at Legacy and Preston.

Plano ISD, Place 6 Steve Navarre

Plano ISD, Place 6 Marilyn Hinton

Plano ISD, Place 6 Nathan Barbera

Plano ISD, Place 6 Rama Lavu

Plano ISD, Place 7 Missy Bender(I)

Plano ISD, Place 7 Robert Canright

Sachse City Council, Place 1 Charles W. Smith

Sachse City Council, Place 2 Scott Whitfield

Sachse City Council, Place 2 Hal Hinckley

Sachse City Council, Place 2 Jared Patterson

Wylie City Council, Place 2 M.G. "Red" Byboth(I)

Wylie City Council, Place 4 Bennie Jones

Wylie City Council, Place 4 Gilbert Tamez Sr.

Wylie ISD, Place 3 Barbara Goss

Wylie ISD, Place 3 Allen M. Morris

Wylie ISD, Place 4 Lance Goff(I)

Wylie ISD, Place 4 Cris O'Neal

Wylie ISD Bonds: $84,500,000 for various school renovations and projects