Harris County reports more than 72K early ballots cast ahead of May 7 elections

Early voting has ended for the May 7 local, special and constitutional amendment elections, and the Harris County Elections Administrator’s Office reported 72,734 total early votes were cast over the nine-day period.

Of those, 48,130 votes were cast in person, and 24,604 mail ballots have been returned, according to unofficial totals posted by the Elections Administrator’s Office.

Polls were open at 52 sites throughout the county during early voting, and election day will feature 465 polling locations, according to county officials.

Some local elections, such as emergency services districts, municipal utility districts and homeowners associations, may not be on the Harris County ballot. Check with your local entities to know where to vote. Election day is May 7, when all Harris County polls will be open from 7 a.m.-7 p.m.

County officials announced this week the expansion of an existing partnership with county law enforcement agencies to coordinate the safe transfer of voting materials from polling locations to the Election Technology Center’s Central County. According to a news release, this program was already in place for early-voting drop-off, and starting with the May 7 election, it will also be in place on election day.

This election will be among the last under Harris County Elections Administrator Isabel Longoria, who announced her resignation effective July 1 following the March 1 primary election. A replacement has not yet been named.

Learn more about ongoing elections at www.harrisvotes.com.