HOUSTON – More than 67,000 people in Harris County voted on the first day of early voting in Texas, according to officials.
Many of those voters who lined up first thing Monday morning said they have been watching the presidential race closely. Others said they just wanted to get it over with.
“I already knew who I was going to vote for, so I didn't have to wait around,” voter Tony Bernal said.
“With all the rhetoric around this election, I just wanted to vote (and) check it off,” voter Cindy Brown said. “I’m not listening to any more of it.”
Even though they’re casting their ballot early, many of the voters said they’re just as excited about seeing the results on Election Day.
“I almost started crying to think about this is the first time, I’m 37 years old, (and) this is the first time I got to vote for a woman for president,” voter Frances Valdez said.
“We’re going to have change,” Bernal said. “Hopefully.”
At noon Monday, officials said that about 6,000 people an hour were voting.
Some people had waited in line for hours to vote.
"There's only like two people checking IDs. There are a lot of booths, seems like if more people were checking, it would be faster," voter Deidre Hunter said.
Some of the busiest locations were Bayland Park Community in southwest Houston and the Acres Home Multi-Service Center.
Harris County Clerk Stan Stanart said busier locations will accommodate the process for easier voting after Monday.
"We'll be able to tweak after today, maybe another processing station at a place that does have excessive lines," Stanart said.
While some voters went online expressing their frustrations, the clerk's office said it had not received a single complaint on any voter related issues. At a Pasadena rally, Harris County Republican Party Chairman Paul Simpson said he had not personally heard any complaints, but had seen the online posts.
"Both parties get very involved to make sure they work properly," Simpson said. "I think oftentimes it's user error, but we will investigate any claim of problems and make sure it didn't happen."
Monday's total in-person early voting numbers were 67,471, which has set a new record for the first day of early voting. The previous record was around 47,000 set in 2012.
U.S. Senator of Texas Ted Cruz gathered Republicans running for office during a rally in Pasadena Monday evening.
"Let's get all of the candidates together," Cruz said. "Texas is front and center. We understand what is at stake in this election. Our whole country hangs in the balance."
RELATED: Find early voting locations, requirements in our guide
Early voting ends Nov. 4. Voters can go to any early-voting location to cast their ballot. Most locations are open from 7 a.m. until 6 p.m. during the week.
Voters will need to show identification before casting their ballot, using either the proper photo identification, or another recognized form of non-photo identification along with an affidavit.
Harris County officials said they expect about 750,000 people to participate in early voting. Overall, about 1.4 million are expected to vote.
