Billboard touts grocery store voting

Austin now has a new billboard, advertising the fact that many grocery stores have polling places. The billboard, which is on Oltorf Street, just east of South Lamar, was donated by Reagan National Advertising and sponsored by the Texas Campaign for the Environment Fund. Executive Director Robin Schneider said, “This billboard makes it clear how convenient voting can be for busy Austinites.” Those stores, which include numerous Randalls, Fiestas and a couple of H-E-B’s, will operate not only during Early Voting but also on Election Day, Nov. 4. Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir said, “With all the new people coming to our area, many come from places where Early Voting and voting at grocery stores is not possible. This billboard is one more way of getting the word out to Travis County residents,” Travis County Tax Assessor–Collector Bruce Elfant said there are currently about 658,000 registered voters in the county. His office worked to register new voters and get voters who have moved to re-register, adding about 65,000 voters to the rolls. Schneider said Brigid Shea, who is a member of the environmental group’s board and a candidate for Pct. 2 Travis County Commissioner, worked with Reagan to get the donated space. She said the billboard will remain up at least through Election Day.