HOUSTON — With record-setting early voting in Harris County nearing its end, election officials spent Friday preparing for an Election Day turnout the County Clerk predicts could reach hundreds of thousands of voters countywide.
“We could get close to 50 percent turnout, the way things are going,” said Stan Stanart, Harris County Clerk.
Sonia Soto, Stanart’s Director of Community Relations, wrote in an email to KHOU her office is “probably looking at between 275,000 (to) 325,000” voters to show up on Tuesday alone due to heavy early voting and unusual Governor’s cycle election.
That figure would be in addition to the 850,000 early voters and mail-in ballots Stanart’s office predicts, a grand total for the 2018 midterms that could easily top 1.1 million voters. It’s a number far and above the 688,018 voters that showed up for the 2014 midterm.
“Before early voting started, especially when we heard Donald Trump was coming, we allocated all of our machines out as if it was a presidential-level election,” said Stanart.
On Friday, constables are scheduled to deliver the sealed early voting machines to the county’s offices by chain of custody. On Saturday and Sunday, precinct judges will pick up election supplies from the Election Technology Center. Soto tells KHOU around 8,000 voting booths will be distributed among 739 polls, along with two judge booth controllers at each site.
Soto also wrote that ballot-by-mails are being processed in preparation for scanning, and more 6,000 workers and support staff will work Tuesday.
“I think on Election Day, it’s gonna go fairly smoothly,” said Stanart. “Once again, there shouldn’t be any line issues either.”
Early voting ends Friday at 7 p.m. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 6, with polls open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Anyone in line by the time polls close will be allowed to vote.
On Tuesday, voters in Harris County must vote at their precinct, while some counties, like Fort Bend, allow voters to cast their ballot at any voting center on Election Day.
To see each county’s rules, as well as sample ballots and ID requirements, visit the KHOU Voter Guide.