Published: January 28, 2008 11:06 am         

Election polls open all day Feb. 5

Garfield County election polls will be open from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 5, for the presidential preferential primary and the annual school elections for Waukomis I-1, Pioneer-Pleasant Vale I-56, Pond Creek-Hunter I-90, Hennessey I-16 and Mulhall-Orlando I-3 School Districts.

Lue Ann Root, secretary of the Garfield County Election Board, offered voters some tips on how to ensure their votes count.

A valid marking—a filled-in arrow—is shown on posters at the polling places and inside the voting booths. If voters make mistakes marking their ballots, they should not try to correct those errors. Instead, voters should return the spoiled ballot to the precinct officials, who will then destroy it and issue a new ballot to the voter.

Voters are urged to take their voter identification cards with them to the polls.

“Your voter identification card can help precinct officials find your name in the precinct registry, and it also may help them resolve the problem if you are not listed in the precinct registry.”

Voters whose names are not found in the precinct registry or a voter who disagrees with the information shown in the registry may need to cast a provisional ballot. A provisional ballot is sealed in a special envelope and counted the day after the election if the voter’s information can be verified by his or her county election board

Voters who want to get through the line quickly should vote at mid-morning or mid-afternoon because those usually are the two slowest periods for voting during the day.

“Anyone who is eligible and in line at the polling place at 7 p.m. Tuesday will be entitled to vote,” Root added.