SAN PATRICIO COUNTY, Texas — According to San Patricio County Elections staff, there are 43,266 people registered to vote in San Pat County. The numbers are up more than 1,200 new voters since the July run-off election.
Pamela Hill, elections administrator for San Patricio County, said that up until this past deadline to register to vote, her office would see 50-100 people calling or coming in to their office each day with questions about voter registration.
"That may not sound like a lot, but for a county our size, that's a lot and so we've never seen the turnout like we've seen this year," said Hill.
Hill shared the surge in newly registered voters has appeared to be a mix of young, older and even some first-time voters. She said many senior residents reached out to her office this election season.
"It is a mix, but we have seen a lot of older people coming out to register."
Young or old, veteran or first-time voter, Hill says she and her office staff want to ensure everyone feels confident and secure when they vote.
When it comes to those senior voters, Hill is encouraging them to do so by mail. However, should folks want to go to a polling site, she advises they participate in early voting and wants them to know they have several options.
"Say they didn’t want to vote by mail, but they want to vote in person, we have curbside voting," Hill said.
"All of our early voting sites, all of our election day sites are going to have curbside voting and they will bring the ballot out to the voter in the car and they can vote in the privacy of their own car."
"Also, if they want to bring in their ballot to our office, and they're not able to get out of their car and come in, we also will walk out and do all the paperwork and look at their ID and take their ballot from them."
Hill says there at the elections office drive-thru, voting will also be an option.
Early voting schedule and locations:
For San Pat residents with older, Spanish-speaking relatives, Hill encourages them to call the elections office for any concerns or questions they may have.
"If they call our office, we always have someone available here that speaks fluent Spanish, also at all of our polling locations we always staff it with someone who can speak fluent Spanish," Hill said.
How to reach the San Patricio County Elections Office:
Phone: (361) 364-9300
Email: spc.absentee@co.san-patricio.tx.us
Another tool staff has found helpful in connecting with San Pat residents: the power of social media.
Recently, the county elections office began posting videos to their Facebook page featuring Elections Clerk, Pam Brewer, throughout the weeks at the 3 p.m. hour providing tips and advice on different topics.
"You know, we can reach these people through Facebook, and so what better way to do it than to have videos and update our voters on what’s going on in San Patricio County?" said Hill.
Click here to be taken directly to those videos on their Facebook page.
The first day of early voting begins this upcoming Tuesday, October 13 and will run through October 30. The last day to apply for a ballot by mail (received, not postmarked) is October 23.
To visit and follow the San Patricio County Elections Office Facebook page for updates, click here.
If you are a San Patricio County resident and would like more voting information specific to San Pat, click here to be taken to the county's elections office home page.