Election workers, judges talk about turning away voters all over Denton County

Click on the image to watch Election Worker Virginia Sheppard speak about redirecting voters to the Denton County Commissioners, asking them to approve countywide Election Day voting.

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Election workers from all over Denton County are telling their stories about redirecting lots of Election Day voters, sometimes hundreds on a single day.

A county rule forces them to turn away legally registered voters who accidentally show up at the wrong place on Election Day ... often a polling place where they could have voted with no problem a few days before.

They are telling their stories on social media and in person at Denton County Commission stories because they want to change this crazy rule.

Virginia Sheppard's story about redirecting voters in The Colony and Robson Ranch is below. You can read all of them here.

Virgina (Ginger) Sheppard, Robson Ranch

I have redirected voters at many polling locations around the county in the eight years I have been an election alternate judge and clerk.  I’ve served at polling places in and around Northlake, Justin, Denton and The Colony.  I recall two instances in particular:

On Election Day Nov. 2020, I was the alternate judge at The Colony. We had long lines all day. We found that many were coming from work or shopping and were not happy that they were in the wrong polling center. 

Of those turned away, at least half didn't understand why as that location had been their precinct polling center in the past. The worst part was that people were in line before closing time at 7 pm and we didn't finish processing everyone until 8:30 pm. Between 7 and 8:30 pm we turned away at least every fifth voter and there was no way they had time to get to the correct polling place.

On Election Day Nov. 2022, I was the alternate judge at Robson Ranch. It became obvious to the judge and to me that many voters were in the wrong location to vote.   We decided I would stay at the door to ask each voter where they were from in order to help expedite things if they were not in the right place to vote. 

Some were just in the wrong polling place in Robson, so had time to get to their correct polling place. Many others needed to go to Northlake Town Hall or to the polling place at the school complex near the NASCAR track:  they were workers at Robson or delivery drivers or worked at the ER/urgent care nearby.  

As it got closer to closing time those voters in the wrong location did not have time to get to the correct location to vote. 

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