Harris County has recorded more than 100,000 in-person ballots cast so far on Election Day, the Harris County Clerk’s Office announced on its social media.
Latest update
Election Day marks the last opportunity for voters to cast a ballot in the midterm election across 623 voting centers countywide, Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth told reporters at about 10:30 a.m. This adds to about 1.08 million county residents who cast their ballots during the 12-day early voting period.
The average Harris County voter will have more than 100 contests on their ballot, said Hudspeth, who serves as the county’s chief election official. As polls close at 7 p.m., Hudspeth said the first round of results from in-person early voting and mail-in voting is expected at about 7:30 p.m.
“It will be a late night. I believe it,” Hudspeth said. “We will have voters voting all well into the evening as long as they’re in line by 7 p.m.”
Voters are eligible to cast their ballot if they are standing in line at a voting center by 7 p.m.
Zooming in
Only one voting center, the BakerRipley Gulfton Sharpstown Campus in Gulfton, did not open its doors on time.
Hudspeth said she is still gathering information, and her team is at the location supporting the poll workers. Voting is happening at the location, she said.
“I’ve always said, this is not a flawless process, but we work very hard,” Hudspeth said. “And when you have people involved, there can sometimes be delays.”
One more thing
Federal election monitors from the U.S. Department of Justice are monitoring polls throughout the county, Hudspeth confirmed. The County Clerk’s Office announced Oct. 30 it was notified the monitors would be in Harris County on Election Day.
Federal monitors have made appearances at polls during many elections in the county, Hudspeth said. They are required to remain behind the 100-foot marker around voting centers, and voters are not required to speak with monitors.
“This is a very transparent process,” Hudspeth said. No one is hiding anything. We are fully aware of how many monitors, where the monitors are at and where they are going throughout the day.”
Hudspeth said there will also be congressional observers and state monitors, both of which are typical to have during elections. They must be credentialed to be at the voting centers, she said.
Before you go
County residents are eligible to cast a ballot at any voting center, which can be found on the county clerk’s website.
To view a sample ballot, visit Community Impact’s voter guide.
