By Theresa Armstrong

Reporter

tdunn@gcnnewsgazette.com

The 2008 election is just over a month away, and Grayson County Clerk Carletta Farris is reminding voters of some important deadlines.

The last day to register to vote in the November election will be October 6, the registration books will close on October 7 and they will not reopen again November 10.

The Grayson County Board of Elections will begin inspecting the voting machines at 9 a.m. on October 6.

Voters who will be absent from the county on Election Day should make an application for absentee voting in the clerk’s office by October 7.

Tuesday, October 28 is the last day to apply for a mail-in absentee ballot. Farris said these applications must be on the clerk’s desk by 4 p.m. on that day.

Election Day is Tuesday, November 4. The polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

“The Board of Elections will be in session all day on election-day at my office,” said Farris. “All mail-in ballots have to be delivered by mail to my office by this date in order to be counted.”

Voters will use the new eScan voting system installed for this election.

“I think the new voting machine will make it easier to vote and once voters use it they will really like it,” said Farris.  “All they do is mark it and lay it on the scanner and the total comes right in.  It will make it easier the clerk’s office to count the votes also. “

Secretary of State Trey Grayson visited Grayson County last week to demonstrate the new machine. 

“This new equipment is user-friendly and provides voters with a very important tool in today’s elections—a voter verified paper record,” said Grayson.  “I applaud the county clerks and fiscal courts in these counties for taking the lead in moving to these systems.”

The equipment, called eScans, is a precinct-based voting system that digitally captures voter selections on printed ballots and integrates vote totals from absentee-by-mail and electronic voting systems to produce a single set of election reports. The new systems should help reduce the time for unofficial vote totals to be tabulated on election night.

“Voters will recognize the ballot casting procedure as similar to standardized tests where citizens fill in an oval to mark their selection.  With the digital scan technology, the system reads the ballot, tabulates the results and preserves a digital image of the ballot, “said Grayson in a press release.