HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — The second week of early voting is underway in Harris County and on Monday, hours were extended for voters to make it to the polls.
"Always come here for the last 50 years," Danny Brown said.
Danny and Matilda Brown said they typically vote early.
"Get our voice heard," Matilda said.
They're among some of the people who waited until after the rush of the first week of early voting but cast their ballots before last-minute voters towards the end of early voting on Friday.
"I thought if I waited it might die down a little bit, so, that's why I didn't come last week," Tricia Krimm said.
As of Sunday in Harris County, more than 686,000 votes have been cast in person along with 41,000 mail-in ballots.
During the 2020 presidential election, after the first seven days, more than 628,000 people voted in person and more than 93,000 casted mail-in ballots.
However, political experts say it's not an apples-to-apples comparison between the elections.
"Mail-in voting was just much easier, much more convenient and safer in 2020," said Bob Stein, a political science professor at Rice University.
Stein said during the COVID-19 pandemic, more people voted by mail.
Jeanette Alarcon is one of those voters.
This time, significantly fewer people are doing so and more are showing up to the polls instead.
"I was surprised at how easy the mail-in voting was," Alarcon said.
As far as voter turnout compared to the previous presidential election....
"The evidence at this point would be to suggest to me a turnout that will not approach or exceed 2020, but we'll come close to it," Stein said.
No matter how the ballots are cast, many voters are glad to see people making their voices heard.
"I love it. I think people are, realizing how important it is," Krimm said,
Early voting ends Friday before Election Day next Tuesday, Nov. 5.
What do I bring with me to vote in person?
- Texas Driver License issued by Texas DPS
- Texas Election Identification Certificate issued by DPS
- Texas Personal Identification Card issued by DPS
- Texas Handgun License issued by DPS
- United States Military Identification Card containing the person’s photograph
- United States Citizenship Certificate containing the person’s photograph
- United States Passport (book or card)
For voters aged 18-69, photo IDs must not be expired for more than four years, with the exception of U.S. Citizenship Certificate, which doesn't expire. Anyone 70 years and above, acceptable forms of photo IDs can be expired for any length of time if the ID is otherwise valid.
For those who don't have any of the above forms of ID, here are some supporting forms of ID that can be shown.
- Copy or original of a government document that shows the voter’s name and an address, including the voter’s voter registration certificate;
- Copy of or original current utility bill;
- Copy of or original bank statement;
- Copy of or original government check;
- Copy of or original paycheck; or
- Copy of or original of (a) a certified domestic (from a U.S. state or territory) birth certificate or (b) a document confirming birth admissible in a court of law which establishes the voter’s identity (which may include a foreign birth document).
You can learn more about acceptable forms of ID here.