Photo: SUZANNE CORDEIRO / AFP / Getty Images
Early voting for the 2024 general election begins in Texas. Reports say there are almost 200,000 new voters in the state fr this cycle, and more than 18 million people are registered to vote.
Republican Election judge Felicia Cravens says they are prepared for a big turnout.
"We're expecting a lot of people who haven't voted since the 2020 Presidential election," Cravens said. And that's based on what she's heard just around her own neighborhood.
"They are really excited to get out and vote. They want to get it done as soon as possible," she stated.
This is the first Presidential election that Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth is running after taking over for former elections administrator Clifford Tatum. Tatum's position was eliminated in legislation passed by the state legislature last year after problems on Election Day in 2022.
That said, there are still problems in other locations across the state.
Officials are investigating "limited failed tests" of voting machines in Dallas County. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced the issues in a post on X on Saturday. The AG's office and the office of the Secretary of State are on the ground looking into why the machines failed their tests.
Polls open at 7am and will be open until 7pm. The early voting period ends November 1st..
In Galveston County, polls open at 8:00 a.m.