HOUSTON — There's a major change in drive-thru voting on Election Day in Harris County.
There were originally going to be 10 locations, but late Monday night, Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins announced there would only be one: The Toyota Center.
The change comes after a legal challenge won by Harris County that allowed more than 127,000 ballots that had been cast via drive-thru during early voting to be counted.
Drive-thru voting will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
What to expect
- Look for the DTV signs located at the entrance of all 10 sites
- A greeter will offer optional hand sanitizer and face mask
- Turn off your engine and all electronics such as cell phones
- Display valid photo identification
- You will be handed a portable voting machine through your window to vote
- If there are multiple voters, each will take turns to vote
- Be courteous by remaining silent while each voter votes
- Receive your “I Voted” sticker, and we will see you next time!
Benefits
- Safer for voters naturally socially distanced within their vehicle
- Secure using same voting machines and procedures as walk-in voting
- Accessible to all voters
- Efficient by serving 10-30 voters at all times at each site
- Convenient for voters never having to leave their vehicle
- Different from curbside voting
- Drive-thru voting is different from curbside voting. The curbside option is only for voters with disabilities and is available at all polling sites.
Harris County is the first jurisdiction in Texas history to create this new method of voting at scale that allows any registered voter to cast their ballot without leaving the comfort of their vehicle.