SAN ANTONIO – Bexar County elections officials are racing to staff 302 polling locations and train workers ahead of Election Day after a judge ordered the county to increase the number of polling locations.
The Bexar County Commissioners Court approved the 302 polling locations on Tuesday, fewer than the 388 locations activists wanted.
Last week, a judge ruled that Bexar County Election Day polling locations should be determined and posted online by Oct. 18. Elections administrator Jacque Callanen said her office is working on it.
“Election Day polling sites are not out there yet. We won’t release that until we have nailed down every single one of them,” Callanen said.
Callanen said school campuses are often used as polling locations. At least four school districts will allow voters on campus because it’s a holiday for those schools.
However, other school districts are hesitant to let voters on campus.
“One of the school districts we had it on the list, we said, ‘OK, we’ll be there.’ And they said no. So until my staff finishes working, every one of them, we’re not going to put that (out),” Callanen said.
The elections office is working on staffing the 129 total added polling locations. Each location must have at least one experienced poll worker.
“My fantastic trainer is almost exhausted because she’s having continual training classes,” Callanen said.
The elections office administrator said the tense political climate makes it challenging to recruit staff. She said Tuesday that the elections office had received an overwhelming number of aggressive calls and at least 500 open records requests.
“They’re telling the staff that they’re lying to them, swearing at them, being very, very rude,” Callanen said.
Early voting begins Monday, Oct 24. You can find a list of voting sites here.