What I Learned: Henderson County Election Day 2016

I spent Election Day traveling all over the county, visiting more than half the polling locations and sitting in the lobby of the Elections Office as the votes were counted. Here are some of the things I learned:

* There was no massive turnout.

After early voting broke records with more than 19,000 votes being cast, many thought there would be a huge turnout in Henderson County, me included. That didn’t happen, however, at least not to the levels expected.

Slightly more than 57 percent of registered voters turned out for the election, with 30,470 voters casting a ballot as of Tuesday night’s unofficial totals. In the last presidential election in 2012, the county saw 27,627 voters go to the polls. This year we experienced an uptick for sure, but I expected more after the lines we saw during early voting.

* Every vote counts locally.

There was never a question that the county would go for Donald Trump in big numbers — more about that later — but there were several local races in which a handful of votes decided winners.

The difference between being elected to the Malakoff ISD school board or going home defeated was 15 votes, for instance. Less than 50 votes decided the last seat on the Brownsboro ISD school board.

Next time someone tells you every vote counts, make sure you think about your city hall and school, because your vote really could be the difference there.

* The election process can be confusing, but a little homework makes it much easier.

I showed up at the Henderson County Elections Office around 6:30 a.m. hoping to get a photo of the line waiting to vote (see my first point), but since there was no line, I waited to get a photo of the first voters.

Only I had to wait until several people came out of the building and left before finding someone who had actually voted. Everyone else was just in the wrong polling place.

That was a problem I saw all day, people not knowing where they were supposed to vote. I also answered several reader questions about how the vote gets collected, why there weren’t paper ballots, what constitutes a provisional vote, and whether it was too late to register.

Much of this information is readily available online.

* It is really hard to get elected in this county if you aren’t a Republican.

From the county’s State Legislative races on down, there were only three non-Republicans on the ballot. All three of them were beaten decisively, even the incumbent Pct. 1 Constable.

In fact, Republicans ran unopposed for the following offices: District 4 State Rep. Lance Gooden; 3rd District Court Judge Mark A. Calhoon; 392nd District Court Judge R. Scott McKee; 173rd District Court Judge District Attorney Mark W. Hall; County Attorney Clint Davis; Sheriff Botie Hillhouse; Tax Assessor-Collector Peggy Goodall; Pct. 1 Commissioner Ken Hayes; Pct. 2 Constable Mitch Baker; Pct. 3 Constable David Grubbs; Pct. 4 Constable John Floyd; Pct. 5 Constable Brad Miers.

At 5 p.m., with very few national results coming in and many pundits predicting a Hillary Clinton victory in the presidential election, the Henderson County Republican Party Headquarters was filled with people enjoying the night. The Henderson County Democratic Party Headquarters was closed.

Donald Trump? He received just under 80 percent of the vote in Henderson County.

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Michael V. Hannigan is a journalist and social media coach living in Athens, Texas. You can follow him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat @mvhannigan.