Copperas Cove shares Coryell County runoff voting links, polling details

Copperas Cove residents trying to cast a ballot in the May 26 primary runoff were being pushed to the correct county pages first, because the voting rules changed with the county line. The city’s election information page directed voters with Coryell County addresses to the Coryell County runoff materials and those in Lampasas County to the Lampasas County resources, while the biggest local trap remained simple: use the right county site before leaving home, then show up at the right polling place with the right party eligibility.

In Coryell County, the tax office election page listed early voting sites at the Copperas Cove Early Voting Center, 809 S. Main St. in Copperas Cove, and the Gatesville Annex, 800 E. Main St., Suite B, in Gatesville. Election Day across Texas ran from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., and anyone already in line by 7:00 p.m. was entitled to vote. The Texas Secretary of State said primary runoffs happen when no candidate wins a majority in the primary, and the top two finishers go on to settle the party nomination for November.

Three Republican Coryell County races were headed to the runoff: county judge, County Commissioner Precinct 2 and County Commissioner Precinct 4. In the county judge race, incumbent Roger Miller finished with 2,748 votes, or 44.93 percent, behind Rob Erwin’s 3,066 votes, or 49.76 percent, while Latisha Walton took 395 votes, or 6.36 percent. In Precinct 2, incumbent Scott Weddle led with 633 votes, or 49.7 percent, and advanced to face Tully Meyer, who received 266 votes, or 20.91 percent. In Precinct 4, Ray Ashby led with 578 votes, or 37.68 percent, and moved on against Justin Smith, who got 335 votes, or 21.84 percent; incumbent Keith Taylor missed the runoff by 17 votes, finishing with 318, and Carroll Starkey received 303. No Democratic candidates were on the ballot for those county offices, so the primary and runoff winners will take office Jan. 1, 2027.

The most common point of confusion was party eligibility. Voters who took part in the Republican primary in March had to vote in the Republican runoff, and voters who participated in the Democratic primary had to vote in the Democratic runoff. Texans who did not vote in either March primary could choose which party runoff to join. The state portal also told voters to check VoteTexas.gov or their county election office for polling sites and acceptable photo ID rules before heading out.

Lampasas County voters had a different rule: registered voters could cast a ballot at any Election Day location in the county. The Lampasas County schedule listed the Lampasas Election Office, 407 S. Pecan St., Suite 102, in Lampasas, and the Kempner Fire Dept. Training Building, 315 Pecan St. in Kempner. The City of Kempner also listed Lometa City Hall, 100 E. San Saba St. in Lometa, as a voting site, giving county voters several ways to reach the polls before the 7 p.m. closing time.