Un lugar de estacionamiento para discapacitados está reservado para la votación en la acera en el Gimnasio Victor Kay en Winona el 14 de julio de 2020. (Archivo Tyler Morning Telegraph)

For voters with disabilities, curbside voting is available at every polling location in Smith County.

“When they call to let us know they’re needing to vote curbside, we try to work with them,” Elections Administrator Michelle Allcon said. “We’re going to have the people come out and help them as soon as possible, but it might be a few minutes.”

Major polling locations, including Lindale, Noonday, First Christian Church and Whitehouse, have reported steady curbside voting, with 20 to 40 voters per day utilizing the service.

“They’ve had somebody almost continually working curbside to assist those voters,” Allcon said.

Voters who are unable to enter without assistance or risk of injury can look for the “Curbside Voter Parking” sign at each site. They can call the location for help, or have someone go inside to request assistance on their behalf.

The service is intended for individuals who are physically unable to enter the polling place without assistance, not for general convenience, such as busy parents with children in the car.

“It’s not drive-thru voting. Drive-thru voting is specifically not allowed in Texas,” Allcon said. “ It’s meant to be a help for voters with some type of disability or or illness, not as a convenience for voters that just don’t want to stand in line.”

In certain cases, if someone brings a voter who can’t go inside, they may be allowed to vote curbside, too. This way, the person needing assistance isn’t left waiting alone while their companion stands in line.

Due to mobility problems, disabilities and conditions that qualify them, voters who cannot stand in line for extended periods can request priority access. While polling locations aim to have seating available, those who find it difficult to wait can ask for priority in line.

Poll workers are trained to assist through the “Notice of Voter Order Priority” process.

“[Poll] workers are also supposed to be on the lookout for things like this,” Allcon said. “The workers are supposed to approach that individual and offer them either a chair or to move them to the front of the line.”

Election Day will be from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 5.