County Judge Shane Long and the Commissioner’s Court enacted new Electioneering Regulations for the County Annex polling place on Monday at 2pm after tabling the vote earlier in the morning at their regular meeting.
The Commissioner’s Court had a full house of spectators and participants at the 9am meeting who were interested in the public discussion portion of the new potential polling place regulations.
Public comment was limited to a maximum of 30 total minutes of discussion on the topic and Judge Long divided the time evenly between those for and those against the potential rules. The entire meeting livestream can be seen in the following link: https://fb.watch/rmkudSrYwG
In the end, the Court voted FOR new rules that will regulate electioneering at the County Annex in Mineral Wells. The new parameters will designate the center lanes of the parking lot a no electioneering zone, leaving the northern and southern parking spaces and driveways designated for those activities.
The new rules will also limit the number of signs allowable and when they may be posted. No more than six signs per candidate are allowed and they can only be displayed 30 minutes prior to the polls opening and 30 minutes after polls closing.
These new parameters will be enforced at the next election on May 4th and are punishable by law. The fine is a Class C Misdemeanor.
Commissioners were contacted by multiple people after the March 5th Primary Election where the parking lot outside the annex was filled with electioneers making it difficult for voters to make it into the polls. At least one attorney contacted Judge Long about possible intimidation at the polls and Long quickly acted to protect voters and the integrity of elections moving forward.