Nonexistent lines are defining Election Day in the northeastern part of Tarrant County, as the majority of voters have already cast their ballot during early voting, either by mail or in person.
With record numbers of voters turning out during early voting across Tarrant County, voters who have waited until Nov. 3 to cast their ballot are seeing short to no wait times.
Places packed during early voting, such as Keller Town Hall and the Grapevine REC, were almost deserted on Tuesday.
“I kind of was [surprised there was no line], actually, but I think a lot of people early voted and were waiting in really long lines then, so I guess I'm a procrastinator, but maybe it's good,” said Kari Kinsey, who works as a veterinarian in Keller. She voted Tuesday at Indian Springs Middle School.
Polls workers and candidates alike said that early voter turnout is likely cause for low Election Day turnout. During the three scheduled weeks of early voting, 666,582 ballots were cast in person, and 62,913 were sent in by mail. Of the 1,212,524 registered voters in Tarrant County, over 60% cast ballots during early voting, according to the Texas Secretary of State's Office.
According to the Tarrant County Elections Department website, more than 95,000 ballots had been cast in person on Election Day as of 6 p.m.
Polls are open until 7 p.m. Anyone in line before 7 p.m. will be allowed to vote. Voters can check wait times at the Tarrant County Elections site here.
Mail-in ballots must be postmarked by Election Day and received by Nov. 4 if they were sent from inside the U.S. or by Nov. 9, if they were sent from outside the U.S. People may also return their mail-in ballots in person on Tuesday at the main elections office at 2700 Premier St., Fort Worth.
Tarrant County residents who use a mail-in ballot option can track mail-in ballots using an online tool provided by nonprofit organization Vote America. Voters using the tool can check whether their mail-in ballot has been received by the county elections office.
Community Impact Newspaper will post election stories throughout the day Nov. 3 and will start posting results after polls close at 7 p.m. Follow coverage at communityimpact.com/vote.
