What to know on Election Day in Texas
While a record number of North Texans have already cast their ballots, there are still plenty who still need to vote.
There have been some major changes depending on where you live, so let's break down everything you need to know before you head to the polls Tuesday.
Where can you vote?
One of the big stories this year was Tarrant County cutting 92 Election Day voting locations – so if you live there, your regular polling location may have been eliminated – check out the Tarrant County Elections website to make sure you're headed to the right place Tuesday.
But the good news is that in Tarrant County, as well as Collin and Dallas counties, you can vote at any voting center.
But in Denton County, voters must cast their vote at the polling location assigned to their voter precinct. To find your polling location, head to VoteDenton.gov.
When can you vote Tuesday?
This one is easy – it's the same for every county in the state: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Polls will stay open for voters who are in line by 7 p.m.
"If you are in line at 7 o'clock, you have a right to vote. The poll workers will keep that poll location open," said Paul Adams, the Elections Administrator for Dallas County.
Elections officials in Dallas and Collin counties said one of the biggest issues they have is with people not bringing proper ID to the polls, so here's the list of acceptable ID.
Bring one of the following:
- Texas driver license
- Texas election identification certificate
- Texas personal identification card
- Texas handgun license
- United States military identification card w/photo
- United States citizenship certificate w/photo
- United States passport (book or card)
If you don't have one of those, you can bring one of these and still cast a ballot:
- Government document that shows the voter's name and an address, including the voter's voter registration certificate;
- Current utility bill;
- Bank statement;
- Government check;
- Paycheck; or
- (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'll have to sign a reasonable impediment declaration.
One other thing that seems to trip people up is if you've requested a mail-in ballot:
"Voters who have received a ballot by mail can go to a polling location. If they have that ballot by mail, they have custody of it; they can surrender that ballot by mail to an election judge and vote a regular ballot in that polling place," said Kaleb Breaux, the Election Administrator with Colin County.
If you don't have a mail-in ballot, but requested one, you can vote with a provisional ballot.
Finally, election officials are asking for your patience Tuesday and a little grace for poll workers.
"If I could, I'd just encourage people who show up to the polls to remember these things and to be gracious with us as we work through this process. I can tell you voters who've already showed up to vote have been very patient with us and kind, so I just hope that spills over into election day tomorrow," said Breaux.
Lines will probably be long, so plan ahead and pack your patience; a little kindness will go a long way.
