HOUSTON—Police say someone broke into the Hester House Community Center, an early-voting location in the Fifth Ward, overnight, but officials with the Harris County Clerk’s Office said the integrity of the vote was not compromised.
Still, some voters in the community said they can’t help but feel concerned.
"I want my vote to county fair and square," said Evelyn Thacker, who showed up to vote at the Hester House Community Center just a few hours after the break-in was discovered.
Officials say the suspect or suspects smashed through a window and gained entry to the voting area. When election workers arrived early Monday morning, they discovered the place ransacked and saw that some electronic equipment had been taken.
"The vandals took a modem, two printers and a pair of computers used to store voter registration information," according to the Harris County Clerk Chief Deputy Kevin Mauzy. "The voting machines were not touched. The seals were not tampered with and the locks were not broken."
Some early voters called it an act of intimidation, and the Houston branch of the NAACP vowed to watch developments closely.
"We will not allow this act of violence to deter us from getting out the vote," said Executive Director Yolanda Smith.
Officials at Hester House have turned over surveillance video to investigators, who hope to use it to help solve the case.
