Studying ballot helps keep lines moving

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Early voters who waited until Friday to vote lost out on many of the advantages early voting has to offer.

Lines were long as people tried to cast their ballots on the final day of the early voting period.

Randalls at the Arboretum saw long lines and waits over an hour especially during the peak times of lunch break and evening rush hour.

But those who were well-prepared did their part to keep the lines moving once it came time to fill out the ballot.

“It took maybe four minutes,” said Lara Tietz who spent an hour in line, but wasted very little inside the ballot booth. “It didn’t take me long because I did research ahead of time.”

The Travis County ballot is the longest in the county’s history and reading the fine print explanation for every ballot item can be time consuming.

Unless you study it beforehand.

“It took me about two minutes when I got up to the voting booth,” said Lauren Licarione.

Others took the time waiting in line to brush up on all the election items.

“I don’t know everything on it so some of it will be a surprise,” said Mehnet Hoops who estimated it would take him between 15 to 30 minutes. “I looked at it a little, but not as much as I would have liked.”