Let’s get real.
The vast majority of us here in Victoria County can find time to vote.
If you waited to the last minute, or rather day, to cast your ballot, the bad news is that, like a lot of us, you’re a procrastinator. Good luck with that.
But there’s also some great news. Victoria County voters are blessed with an abundance of polling locations, and even if voters find themselves in line during the busiest time and location, they won’t have to wait for long.
On Election Day,
29 polling locations will be open for voters, who can show up at any one of those, regardless of where they live in the county. In fact, there are so many polling locations — in churches, fire stations, schools and other areas — that county commissioners had discussed reducing their number because some had so few voters show up.
On Thursday, a Victoria County election official said wait times could be about 30 minutes long at the main location in the Dr. Pattie Dodson Public Health Center, 2805 N. Navarro St. But that hypothetically long wait would likely only be during peak voting times, and most other locations will likely have voters in and out in the time it takes to grab a burger in a drive-thru line.
Thankfully, that’s a far cry from the hours some had to wait during the 2020 election — like in Georgia where voters stood in line for as many as six hours.
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about another misconception, the idea that votes in predominantly Republican Victoria County don’t matter. It’s true there are no contested local races this election, but the races at the state level are more important than ever.
Whatever side of the aisle you stand on, chances are you have strong feelings about the race for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general. Along with those are seats for U.S. representatives, state senators and representatives, state Supreme Court members, railroad commissioner, comptroller of public accounts, commissioner of general land office as well as many others.
Leading up to this Election Day, the Victoria Advocate has received numerous letters from readers on both sides of the aisle praising and criticizing various candidates. It’s clear that people here have strong opinions on who should serve, or at the very least which party to support.
If you’re politically clueless, there’s help. The Victoria Advocate has published numerous pages from the League of Women Voters of Texas’ voters guide, which can also be viewed at
VOTE411.org. Simply enter in your home address, and the website does the rest.
With information so readily available, there’s little excuse to get to the polls uninformed.
Finally, make no mistake, these races do matter. The decisions made by voters this Election Day will have real effects on our lives. The ballots we cast will decide the decision maker who will make decisions in the coming years on all matter of issues from abortion to guns to education to immigration. There’s a lot more, too.
Unless you were just rescued from a deserted island, you almost certainly have an opinion on a contemporary political controversy.
So let’s get real. Let’s put our money where our mouths are, and make the modicum of planning it takes to get to the polls on Tuesday. Our country, state and community depend on it.
This opinion reflects the views of the Victoria Advocate’s editorial board.
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