Super Tuesday is an important day for Smith County voters as they decide who will be filling the seats for local positions, and also deciding which candidates will face off in the November general election.

Voters in Smith County and across Texas, along with those in 14 other states nationwide, participated in their party’s primaries for Super Tuesday.

“Today has been a really good turnout for election day,” resident and former Tyler city councilmember Bob Westbrook said while visiting the polls Tuesday. “And I think the weather has a lot to do with it.”

Super Tuesday holds the most at stake, especially with the presidential candidates, as the results will decide who will officially be on the ballot for the November election. It was an important day for Smith County as well, as voters cast ballots to determine which candidates will fill the role of sheriff, constable, commissioner and other seats. Some races, such as Commissioner Precinct 1, only had Republicans or Democrats running, meaning the Republican primary winner will be uncontested in their official bid for the seat this November. Others, such as Commissioner Precinct 3, had contested races in each primary, meaning the winners of each will face off in November when voters will choose who will be elected.

The Republican Primary ballot also featured several propositions to consider.

Voting is “everybody’s right to exercise and they need to exercise that right,” Westbrook said. “They need to be educated about the issues. They need to know about the candidates so they can make an educated guess. It’s a responsibility that you have, but that’s truly what makes East Texas great is to get out and exercise your right to vote.”

The primaries give voters a chance to have a say in the federal, state and county-level primary races. With 38 polling places to choose from, voters in Smith County were deciding which candidates to appoint for the general election.

“It’s really important for people to vote,” another local resident LaToyia Jordan said. “We worked for this right — black people, women — and we need to make sure we exercise what people before us fought so hard for.”

Of the more than 156,500 registered voters in Smith County, 18,924, or about 12%, cast a ballot during early voting, according to the Smith County Elections Office. That number includes 18,010 in-person votes and 914 mail-in ballots.

“We’ve had a great turnout down here (at the Hub),” local resident Clark Hampe said. “It’s been steady since this morning… so we just want to encourage people to come out and cast their vote and make their voice heard.”

Between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Election Day, there were 15,200 registered voters who cast a ballot at the polls. Combined with the early voters, roughly 21 percent of Smith County registered voters had voted at that point.

“I believe it’s the most American thing you can do,” Hampe said. “It makes a difference if you’re concerned about the country’s direction. If you’re concerned about the way politics is going, you can’t complain if you don’t cast your vote.”

Daniel Alders came out to meet voters with his family at The Hub polling location in downtown Tyler. He is running for Texas House Representative District 6 uncontested in the Republican primary. On Tuesday, he noticed a steady stream of voters coming out and met residents who had not met him before. He believes it is important to vote in the primary elections.

“I think it’s important to get out, meet them, take the opportunity to meet them when they’re running and then when you have an opportunity, to select your preferred candidate …” Alders said. “It’s a very small percentage of voters that end up selecting our elected officials.”

At The Hub, Tyler resident LaVerne Gollob came out in support of a longtime friend who was running in a contested primary race. Gollob believes voting is important.

“It’s a privilege to be able to live in America and to vote for that person or ideas or values that we cherish so close to our hearts, and to our lives,” Gollob said. “It’s important to vote.”

Cody Grace, who is running for Texas House of Representative District 6 in the Democratic primary, came out to talk to voters at The Hub. He planned to visit more polling locations throughout the day. He said it is important to vote locally because it impacts residents more than the federal races.

“Your local elections are going to be the most important elections to you, all your tax money, all your local influences [are] done locally,” Grace said. “So there’s local elections, your city council, your county commissioner, judge races, those are very important and getting involved in local politics is way more impactful than getting involved in federal politics, or presidential races.”

Grace will face Alders in the House District 6 race in November.

For full election results, visit tylerpaper.com.