People who want to vote early in their school district’s bond election may have to travel outside their district to do so.

Four area school districts — Argyle, Denton, Krum and Ponder — have called bond elections for Nov. 6, but, of those, only Denton will have early voting polling locations within its district.

Superintendents from the three other districts said they believe not having early voting polling locations within their districts could hurt voter turnout.

“What the impact will be is really yet to be determined,” said Argyle Superintendent Jason Ceyanes.

Denton County Elections Administrator Don Alexander said state law requires school districts to use county polling sites on Election Day.

School districts can hold early voting elections on their own but would have to hire their own workers and pay the cost of renting and programming machines, he said.

“In reality, it’s more expensive to conduct an election on your own than it is in the joint election scenario,” Alexander said.

All of the school districts have partnered with the county to conduct joint elections, which means that residents from any district will be able to vote at any polling location.

Alexander said that by law, the county is required to have one Election Day site in each county commissioner’s precinct.

Aside from that, he said there are a number of factors that go into deciding where to place polling sites, such as voter turnout, population growth in the county, and having a stable place for future elections.

Alexander said the county has used the same polling locations for the past six or seven years, so people are familiar with the places.

He said he believes the election laws, which were changed in 2005, are intended to help voters by allowing them to vote for several different elections in one place.

Area superintendents said that they understand the intention of the law and the factors that are used to determine the polling sites

Trying to see the upside of the situation, Ponder Superintendent Bruce Yeager said the locations may be more convenient for people who work outside Ponder.

But superintendents said they would have liked a local early voting location in their districts for their residents’ convenience. They think about the days when the school held its own elections in a school gym or cafeteria.

“Those days are pretty much gone, at least for now,” Ceyanes said.

The districts are well into planning and presenting literature that not only covers the details of their respective bond elections, but also where and when to vote.

District officials are planning to distribute brochures in their schools and community places and talk about the upcoming election at every opportunity.

The Ponder school district added a color-coded map to the final draft of its brochure to ensure that people know where they need to go to vote on Election Day.

The job now for the districts is to educate residents not only on what they will see at the polls but how to get there, as well.

“We are doing our best to inform our voters where they vote, when they can vote and what it takes to be a participant in the system,” Yeager said.

SARAH CHACKO can be reached at 940-566-6876. Her e-mail address is schacko@dentonrc.com.

WHEN AND WHERE

Early voting is still more than a month away, but school districts are already distributing information about their November bond elections and where residents can go to vote, especially since some do not have an early voting location within their school district.

The following is a list of early voting times and locations for Denton County elections, which will include the Denton, Argyle, Krum and Ponder school bond elections:

8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 22, through Friday, Oct. 26

8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 29, through Wednesday, Oct. 31

7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 1, and Friday, Nov. 2

Aubrey Community Center, 226 Countryside Drive, Aubrey

Denton City Hall, 215 E. McKinney St., Denton

Justin Municipal Building, 415 N. College St., Justin

Lake Dallas City Hall, 212 Main St., Lake Dallas

Sanger First Baptist Church, 708 S. Fifth St., Sanger

The Colony Government Center, 6301 Main St., The Colony

8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 22, through Friday, Oct. 26

9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 27

8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 29, through Wednesday, Oct. 31

7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 1, and Friday, Nov. 2

Carrollton Public Library, 4220 N. Josey Lane, Carrollton

Flower Mound Municipal Police and Court Building, 4150 Kirkpatrick Lane, Flower Mound

Frankford Town Homes, 18110 Marsh Lane, Dallas

Highland Village Municipal Complex, 1000 Highland Village Road, Highland Village

Joseph A. Carroll Administration Building, 401 W. Hickory St., Denton

Lewisville Municipal Annex, 1197 W. Main St., Lewisville

Roanoke Community Center, 312 S. Walnut St., Roanoke

7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 1, and Friday, Nov. 2

Trophy Club Municipal Utility District, 100 Municipal Drive, Trophy Club

SOURCE: Denton County Elections Administration office