As the final day of early voting ended Friday, voters in Montague County saw record-breaking turnout, topping 51% of registered voters as of Thursday.
November 5 is expected to be one of the biggest elections in years, so many may be avoiding Election Day crowds. Voters should prepare for longer lines on busy Election Day.
Elections director Ginger Wall said everything went fairly smoothly Friday morning and 8,072 voters had cast their primary ballots as of Thursday. There are 15,654 registered voters in the county.
Early voting ended Friday and Wall said she expected an overall turnout of 80%. When asked if she had any reminders for voters on Election Day, Wall said people should not wear political shirts, hats or other items that support a candidate or issue.
“Something like this is considered electioneering and is legally illegal within 30 meters of the polling station. Employees asked a man to turn his shirt inside out, but he refused and became angry. This is just a friendly reminder that we are just following the rules,” Wall said.
Election Day voting will take place from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the following locations: Montague County Annex Community Room, 11339 State Hwy. 59N, Montague; Bowie Senior Citizen Center, 501 Pelham St; Bowie Public Library, 301 Walnut St.; Nocona HJ Justin Building, 102 Clay St.: Tales 'N' Trails Museum, 1522 EUS Hwy. 82; Saint Jo Civic Center, 101 E Boggess St.; Forestburg Community Center, 16617 FM 455; Sunset City Hall, 119 FM 1749; Ringgold Fire Hall, 17832 NUS Hwy. 81 and Valley View Baptist Church, 6159 FM 103, Spanish Fort.
To view a sample ballot, visit the county website at co.montague.tx.us and click on the “Elections” tab. Remember, Montague County has statewide elections where voters can cast their ballot at any location in the precinct.

Read the full story in this weekend's Bowie News.