Presidential, local voting begins Monday

Orange County voters will be able to go to polls on a Saturday and a Sunday this year as early voting for the tight presidential race, plus others, will start on Monday, October 21.

Local races for some in the county will be to elect directors for the governing boards of Orange County Emergency Services Districts 1 and 3. The districts provide fire and rescue services to areas in the county. District 1 is for Vidor and District 3 is for Little Cypress.

Also, the Orangefield ISD board of trustees has three open spots with only one seat contested. The Vidor ISD is having a $98 million bond election for new classrooms and other improvements.

The early voting sites are the Orange Public Library in downtown Orange, Mauriceville Community Center on Cohenour Road off Highway 62 North, the Orange County Airport on Highway 87 South, and the Raymond Gould Community Center on Claiborne Street in Vidor.

The hours are 7 a.m. through 7 p.m. on Monday, October 21, through Friday, October 25. Then on Saturday, October 26, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and again on Sunday, October 27, from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Polls will then be open 12 hours a day, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., on Monday, October 28, through Friday, November 1.

Registered Orange County voters may cast a ballot at any of the early voting sites. Texas law requires voters to show an official photo identification like driver's license, DPS identification card, U.S. passport, or Texas concealed weapon card. Student identifications are not accepted.

The presidential race between Republican Donald Trump, who held the position between 2017-2021, and Vice President Kamala Harris is drawing the most attention.

Texas also has a senatorial race that has become close in polls as incumbent U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican, is facing Democratic challenger Colin Allred, a lawyer and U.S. representative. Also vying for senator is Libertarian Ted Brown.

Locally, Orange County's incumbent state representative, Dade Phelan, and state senator, Robert Nichols, are unopposed Republicans on the ballot. All local county offices have Republicans running unopposed.

The Orangefield ISD board of trustees has three candidates running at-large for Place III with no incumbent running. The candidates are Richard Lasseigne Jr., Dustin Logan, and Jude Graffagnino. Incumbents Chris Kovatch for Place VI and Brad Frye for Place VII are unopposed.

Orange County Emergency Services District 1 and District 3 voters will choose two directors at-large. The candidates for District 1 are Wyatt Boyett, Ronnie Herrera, and Rose Luca. For District 3, candidates are Scott McDonald, Jeremy Kent Nichols, Cathy Drake, and Jeff Braus.

Election Day is Tuesday, November 5, with polls open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Orange County now allows registered voters to cast a ballot at any site on election day.

Orange County has election machines that give each voter a paper copy of their votes with the paper copy being deposited in a lock box after the voter approves the printout.