DALLAS — Old habits die hard. Like waiting in line to vote at the same old place you always do on Election Day.
But guess what? There's a way to vote that may be much faster than how you're used to doing it.
I'm talking about vote centers.
It means, in many counties, you can vote anywhere in the county. Basically, it's like extending the idea of how early voting where you can also vote anywhere.
The biggest vote center in the region will be the American Airlines Center. It's a huge space, lots of parking, DART takes you right there. And anyone in Dallas County can vote there.
Susan Motley is the President of the Irving chapter of the League of Women Voters.
“They're a good thing for voters because they increase access and convenience, which is of primary importance,” she said.
Counties using vote centers include: Dallas, Tarrant, Collin, Ellis and Kaufman. Not on the list are Denton and Rockwall counties, where you still must vote in your precinct.
In Dallas and Collin counties there's a bonus. You can check "wait times" at all polling places online. A green dot means less than 20 minutes, yellow is 20-40 minutes and red is longer than 40 minutes.
Dallas County used vote centers for the first time this past March. Some frustrated voters were not aware they could vote somewhere else.
Keith Ingram is the Director of Elections for the Texas Secretary of State, which approves counties to participate in Vote Centers.
“Is there any concern that voters aren't getting this message, they don't know they can do this. And they just stand in a line?” I asked.
“It takes an election or two for people to get used to it,” he said.
And with interest so high there's never been a better time to try to make Election Day work for you.