Through the first eight days of early voting in Ector County, there have been 3,282 ballots cast.
Those numbers are down compared to 2020 when there were 6,696 early voting ballots. But there are still several days left to vote.
Ector County Elections Administrator Lisa Sertuche said via the phone that she remains hopeful as there are three days to early vote.
“I’m hoping our numbers will increase by Friday,” Sertuche said.
Early voting concludes Friday as branch locations are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Those branches include Kellus Turner Community Building, 2230 Sycamore Drive, The Globe Theater at Odessa College, 2308 Shakespeare Road, Salinas Community Building, 600 W. Clements St., and MCM Eleganté Hotel, Hawaii Ballroom, 5200 E University Blvd.
On Tuesday morning, the polling location at the MCM Eleganté Hotel where Ron Hughes, who is running for Justice of Peace Precinct 2, was talking with voters.
“A lot of people see the campaign signs and they get all the campaign literature in the mail,” Hughes said. “Sometimes they get overwhelmed and don’t know what to think of all the information.
“Being out here in person, talking to them, introducing myself, letting them know why I’m running and what I’m about, it gives them the opportunity to meet me and gives them an opportunity to ask questions.”
One of the voters to cast her ballot at the MCM Eleganté Hotel was Janet Davis.
She moved to Odessa a year ago, so this marked her first election in the Permian Basin. She said she moved from Bexar County.
Davis said she wanted to cast her ballot before Election Day scheduled for March 1, because she wanted to ensure that her voice would be heard.
“I can cast my vote any day, but I never know what is going to come up,” Davis said.
