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By Dawn Burleigh

On the first day of early voting, 3,120 persons stood in line to cast their ballot. Many reported they waited 45 minutes to an hour to vote.

One person said the hour went fast as she saw many people she knew while in line and enjoyed visiting with them.

On the second day of early voting, Military, Out of Country and Limited Ballots were turned in for a total of 47. The total number of ballots on the second day, including the afore mentioned, was 2,758.

Day three saw a total of 2,415 votes. It is also the day that zero votes were at the Orange City Library, one of the four locations in Orange County to vote.

The Orange Public Library was closed on Thursday due to a power outage from two lines running underground.

The highest number of votes at a location was at the Orange Public Library with 862 on the first day of early voting.

The polls will be open from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Sat. Oct. 17, Mon. Oct. 19 – Oct. 24 and Mon. Oct. 26 – Friday, Oct. 30. On Tuesdays, Oct. 20 and Oct. 27 the polls will have extended hours and be open from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.

The early voting period was extended this year due to COVID-19 protocols.

On the ballots, voters will not only have the option to vote for the presidential election, but also local elections originally scheduled earlier this year but also postponed due to the pandemic.

Sample ballots can be found at https://www.co.orange.tx.us/departments/ElectionsAdministration/SampleBallots

Candidates in contested races are:

President/Vice President

REP   Donald J. Trump/Michael R. Pence

DEM  Joseph R. Biden/Kamala D. Harris

LIB    Jo Jorgensen/ Jeremy “Spike” Cohen

GRN Howie Hawkins/ Angela Walker

U.S. Senator

REP   John Coryn

DEM  Mary “MJ” Hegar

LIB    Kerry Douglas McKennon

GRN David B. Collins

U.S. Representative District 36

REP   Brian Babin

DEM  Rashad Lewis

LIB    Chad Abbey

GRN Hal J. Ridley, Jr

Railroad Commissioner

REP   James “Jim” Wright

DEM  Chrysta Castaneda

LIB    Matt Sterett

GRN Katija “Kat” Gruene

Chief Justice, Supreme Court

REP   Nathan Hecht

DEM  Amy Clark Meachum

LIB    Mark Ash

Justice, Supreme Court, Place 6 Unexpired Term

REP   Jane Bland

DEM  Kathy Cheng

Judge, Supreme Court, Place 7

REP   Jeff Boyd

DEM  Staci Williams

LIB    William Bryan Strange III

Judge, Supreme Court, Place 8

REP   Brett Busby

DEM Gisela D. Triana

LIB    Tom Oxford

Judge, Court of Appeals District, Place 3

REP      Bert Richardson

DEM  Elizabeth Davis Frizell

Judge, Court of Appeals District, Place 4

REP   Kevin Patrick Yeary

DEM  Tina Clinton

Judge, Court of Appeals District, Place 9

REP   David Newell

DEM  Brandon Birmingham

Orange County Drainage Pct. 2

Larry E. Ancelot Jr

j.b. Arrington

 Orange County Drainage Pct. 3

James Scales

Randy Fuselier

City of Pinehurst Mayor

    Dan Mohon

Troy Pierce

City of Orange Council Place 6 At Large

Charles Ray Thomas

Paul Burch

Bridge City Council Place 2

        Mike Reed

Kenneth Prosperie

Rose City Councilmember At Large

Tony Wilcoxson

Shelia Faske

Jeff Dom

Linda Durmon

Jeff Schulze

Jayme McGlothin

Bridge City School District Place 6

Michael C. Johnson

Keith A. Jones

Bridge City School District Place 7

Mark Anderson

Cory L. Mitchell

Orangefield Independent School District Board of Trustee Election Place 3

        Jude Graffagnino

Juan Gonzales