HARRIS COUNTY – Friday is the last day for Harris County voters to cast their ballots early at any of the county’s 99 early voting locations.
All Harris County voters eligible to vote will see statewide positions on their ballot. Some voters may have additional races on their ballots depending on where they reside. Voters are encouraged to visit www.HarrisVotes.com/Voter/Whats-on-my-Ballot and print out their personalized sample ballot, which they can bring with them to the polls for reference. From a total of 93 to 103 individual races and propositions being voted on, the Harris County ballot is the longest in the state and among the longest in the nation.
Casting an in-person ballot will take approximately five to seven minutes, depending on the length of a voter’s unique ballot.
“We are excited. We have been planning this for months and it’s all coming together,” Nadia Hakim, Deputy Director of Communications for the Harris County Elections Administrator said.
Harris County officials are encouraging voters to make their choices in advance and print their sample ballot to take to the polls in order to make their selections efficiently and expeditiously in the booth.
Voters are not required to vote in every race but will need to click through each race to cast a ballot.
Preparing selections in advance will help this process go as smoothly and quickly as possible.
There are new voting machines that have been in place since last year and all counties are required to have a machine with a paper ballot trail by 2026.
Voters will receive two sheets of special ballot paper and an access code. Next, insert the first sheet into the machine and make your selection using the touch screen.
Then, print and review your choices. Hakim says if you see something that doesn’t match up, you have two more times to correct your ballot.
Your vote is officially cast once you place the ballot into the scan.
“There’s been some growing pains in Harris County, but we are ahead of the curb, and we wanted people to be comfortable with these before the big elections,” Hakim said.
Hakim says there’s also curbside voting.
“Some folks think I thought Senate Bill 1 banned Drive through voting. It did, however curbside voting is required by ADA. So, if you are unable to enter a polling location for whatever reason there is curbside voting. You just have to go to the buzzer and ring the bell,” Hakim said.
Early Voting Hours
· Monday, October 24: Saturday, October 29, 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.
· Sunday, October 30: 12 noon– 7 p.m.
· Monday, October 31: Wednesday, November 2: 7 a.m. - 7 p.m.
· Thursday, November 3: 7 a.m. - 10 p.m.
· Friday, November 4: 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Those eligible to vote by mail, who have not already submitted a completed annual application, have until Friday, Oct. 28 to apply. Eligibility requirements and the application can be found here.
Video resources:
· How to fill out a mail ballot application with the new identification requirements
· How to return your mail ballot with the new identification requirements
For more information, including polling locations and regularly-updated wait times, visit www.HarrisVotes.com. Follow @HarrisVotes on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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