Early voters turn out for May 9 election in Montgomery County
From Conroe Courier By Brandon K. Scott | Posted: Wednesday, April 29, 2015 9:30 pm
Early voters turn out for May 9 election in Montgomery County
Early voting continues this week with Election Day on May 9.
There were 3,649 votes in after the first two days of early voting in Montgomery County this week.
Voters in The Woodlands, where the controversial Woodlands Parkway extension has threatened to derail the proposed $350 million countywide road bond, turned out the most voters in the first two days with 1,628 votes cast. There were also 251 votes from the Generations Church a Spring, which is a new voting location in South County.
After The Woodlands, the next highest number of voters at early voting sites is Montgomery with 675. There were 336 votes in Magnolia over the first two days; 311 in Conroe; 236 in East County and 135 in Willis.
Only a few more voters showed up Monday than Tuesday, with 1,800 votes from the first day of early voting and 1,772 on the second day.
Mail-in ballots, however, mostly came in Monday with 76 and just one mail-in Tuesday.
Willis, Montgomery, Conroe and Generations Church voting locations all saw more voters Monday, while more turned out Tuesday in Magnolia and The Woodlands. East County had 118 votes on both Monday and Tuesday.
Early voting results from Wednesday were not available as of press time.
There is more to be decided in the May 9 election but the one affecting all residents is the road bond. The bond includes 77 projects across the county. Precinct 1 and 2 will receive $80 million, Precinct 3 will receive $105 million and Precinct 4 will get $85 million.
Supporters of the bond believe the $350 million does not go far enough in addressing the county’s mobility and transportation needs.
Opponents worry that the Woodlands Parkway extension would add to traffic congestion in the area and that the long term debt to the county could tax people out of their homes,” as former state Rep. Steve Toth stated a forum earlier this month.
Toth said he believes the road bond has “too much in it that we don’t need and not enough in it that we do need.”
Larry and Pam Schmidt voted in Conroe about noon Wednesday. They have lived in the Windsor Lakes subdivision, just north of Texas 242, for about eight years.
Larry Schmidt said they see congestion on a daily basis with the area’s growth.
“Our feeling is, there is a lot of controversy over parts of the bond, but Montgomery County has grown so much in population and our roads have not kept up with the population growth,” he said. “To me, it’s obvious that something has to be done about the roads and funding this bond is a start.”
The Schmidt’s added that more people and businesses are around the area since they moved eight years ago, but said the roads have mostly stayed the same.
Pam Schmidt said she has not spoken much with neighbors about the road bond, but anticipates that could change soon with Election Day approaching.
“I can understand Woodlands Parkway, them not wanting it to go through, but you can’t break out,” Pam Schmidt said. “You have traffic problems all through the county.”
Still, opponents maintain the bond package is poorly planned and contains unnecessary projects that should be trimmed from the list.
