2020 Texas Early Voting Numbers

[hornmpa96 2,652]

Also, how many of the 42% of the Trump votes in Harris County in 2016 were college educated voters who are avoiding Trump in droves? I think that demographic is going to increase Biden's margin in Harris county as compared to 2016.

[Biff Tannen 46,061]

21 minutes ago, Aqua Buddha said:

There's also a three week window and people know that.  A lot are waiting until next week.

Yep, I'm waiting until Friday, or possibly Sunday.

[Biff Tannen 46,061]

23 minutes ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

Also, the lady in line in front of me was turned away because she had requested a mail in ballot and had shown up to vote in person and didn't bring the ballot. I guess their systems know you've requested a mail in ballot, and you have to surrender the ballot and fill out a form if you want to vote in person. 

Good info.

[Hiphopopotamos 21,158]

32 minutes ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

Voted this morning at Leander City Hall. From the time I left the house until I'm back at my desk was almost exactly 1hr, and I stopped for breakfast tacos on the way home. Line took about 15-20 minutes. As I was walking back to my truck, I passed an older white couple getting into their car and overheard the guy say "If there was only a Republican, I just left it blank". My dudes, if they've lost 60-something white men in Williamson County....

Also, the lady in line in front of me was turned away because she had requested a mail in ballot and had shown up to vote in person and didn't bring the ballot. I guess their systems know you've requested a mail in ballot, and you have to surrender the ballot and fill out a form if you want to vote in person. 

Same thing happened here in Fort Bend - couple in front of my partner had requested a mail-in ballot but then decided to vote in person.  The college-aged poll worker calmly explained to them that on the front of the ballot it says that if you want to vote in person you have to surrender the mail in ballot.  They argued for a bit and then the poll worker pointed them over to a judge that was on duty at the polling site.

 

Working exactly as designed so people can't mail in vote and vote in person.

Edited October 14, 2020 by Hiphopopotamos

[SydneyCarton 49,325]

53 minutes ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

Voted this morning at Leander City Hall. From the time I left the house until I'm back at my desk was almost exactly 1hr, and I stopped for breakfast tacos on the way home. Line took about 15-20 minutes. As I was walking back to my truck, I passed an older white couple getting into their car and overheard the guy say "If there was only a Republican, I just left it blank". My dudes, if they've lost 60-something white men in Williamson County....

Also, the lady in line in front of me was turned away because she had requested a mail in ballot and had shown up to vote in person and didn't bring the ballot. I guess their systems know you've requested a mail in ballot, and you have to surrender the ballot and fill out a form if you want to vote in person. 

That's bullshit. That happened to me this morning. We requested ballots, never got them. I had to fill out a couple of forms, it took 10 minutes, and then I got to vote. She was turned away because those folks didn't know what to do. 

[SydneyCarton 49,325]

32 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

Good info.

So my post above. @Hiphopopotamos as well.

 

I told them I never received by ballot, which was true. I had to fill out two simple forms, they cancelled the mail in ballot, and I voted by machine. I feel like folks should know there are options. 

Edited October 14, 2020 by SydneyCarton

[SquishMitten 10,493]

That's bullshit. That happened to me this morning. We requested ballots, never got them. I had to fill out a couple of forms, it took 10 minutes, and then I got to vote. She was turned away because those folks didn't know what to do. 

I wonder if the rules are different if you acknowledge that you received it but just left it at home. That’s pretty different than saying it never arrived, and presumably never will.

[SydneyCarton 49,325]

2 minutes ago, SquishMitten said:

I wonder if the rules are different if you acknowledge that you received it but just left it at home. That’s pretty different than saying it never arrived, and presumably never will.

That's the only thing that makes sense here. That being said, they had an electronic process they went through to disregard that I was sent a mail-in ballot and allow me to vote. 

[Pancho 46,054]

42 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

Yep, I'm waiting until Friday, or possibly Sunday.

Hell at this rate, I’m considering just waiting until Election Day. 

But I think I’m going to be tailgating all day on ED.

 

[Hank Scorpio 17,924]

Just voted this morning and it could not have been easier. I just typed in my full name, address, social security number, and JOE BIDEN into my search bar and hit enter. 

[Ghost of LL 15,664]

4 minutes ago, Pancho said:

Hell at this rate, I’m considering just waiting until Election Day. 

But I think I’m going to be tailgating all day on ED.

 

You know--there might be something to this, even if I have voted.

People in some neighborhoods are going to have very long lines on ED.  I wonder if we ought not just set up a smoker and some coolers to provide folks with some food and drink.

[Guest Lobo]

Would that be legal?  Provided you hang back beyond the legal perimeter deal?  As long as it's not a school voting location...and it was like a church or something...could you just barbecue and hand out free sausage wraps or something as people wait hours in line?  and then also, you yourself, have a few cold ones?  I'd be down for that.  

Edited October 14, 2020 by Lobo

[Ghost of LL 15,664]

Just now, Lobo said:

Would that be legal?  Provided you hang back beyond the legal perimeter deal?  As long as it's not a school voting location...and it was like a church or something...could you just barbecue and hang out free sausage wraps or something as people wait hours in line?  and then also, you yourself, have a few cold ones?  I'd be down for that.  

I think so long as you're not paying people to vote (and certainly not paying them to vote one way or another), it's legal.

[Biff Tannen 46,061]

8 minutes ago, Pancho said:

Hell at this rate, I’m considering just waiting until Election Day. 

I think you are being sarcastic, but please don't do this.

[SydneyCarton 49,325]

2 minutes ago, Ghost of LL said:

I think so long as you're not paying people to vote (and certainly not paying them to vote one way or another), it's legal.

I believe the republicans in one state already threatened to sue a food truck giving away food as buying votes, so I'd be careful. 

[Pancho 46,054]

12 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

I think you are being sarcastic, but please don't do this.

[Dahobbs 18,190]

32 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

That's bullshit. That happened to me this morning. We requested ballots, never got them. I had to fill out a couple of forms, it took 10 minutes, and then I got to vote. She was turned away because those folks didn't know what to do. 

Yes, what they are supposed to do is have the person fill out a provisional ballot. The provisional ballot gets counted so long as the mail-in ballot does not get mailed in. But, safest practice is bring the mail-in ballot with you so that it can be canceled at the polling location. 

[Pato del Muerto 53,332]

15 minutes ago, Lobo said:

Would that be legal?  Provided you hang back beyond the legal perimeter deal?  As long as it's not a school voting location...and it was like a church or something...could you just barbecue and hand out free sausage wraps or something as people wait hours in line?  and then also, you yourself, have a few cold ones?  I'd be down for that.  

If you are far enough away, not supporting one candidate, and offering to everyone in line, I don’t see why not. 

[Dahobbs 18,190]

29 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

That's the only thing that makes sense here. That being said, they had an electronic process they went through to disregard that I was sent a mail-in ballot and allow me to vote. 

This doesn't sound right. They should have had you fill out a provisional ballot (or maybe that is what they did). Maybe Harris County has added a capability that I'm not aware of, but "an electronic process. . . to disregard. . . a mail-in ballot" isn't consistent with the clerk's FAQ or may general understanding of how these are handled. 

https://harrisvotes.com/FAQ#BallotByMailFAQ

Quote

You may vote in person even if you applied for a Vote by Mail ballot, but you can only vote once. To vote in person, take your Vote by Mail ballot to a voting center to surrender it and receive a regular ballot. If you do not have the mail ballot with you, you may still vote in person using a provisional ballot.

 

[Guest Lobo]

Well, I'll defer to the lawyers.  But I live near some of y'all on this page.  We setup a grill and hand out lunch while supplies last.  And we have a few pops in the meantime.  I know of two churches in our neck of the woods that are voting locations.  Gonna be a long night of new watching on the 3rd, may as well fuel up.

[Mdhorn 6,153]

34 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

That's the only thing that makes sense here. That being said, they had an electronic process they went through to disregard that I was sent a mail-in ballot and allow me to vote. 

Yes--during my training for election judge we went over this.  It's not possible to vote twice and someone would know immediately if they vote in person since the check in would tell them.  I would be super pissed though and raise holy hell if they told me I had already voted though and would immediately provide all kinds of ID to invalidate the other vote.  

[Ghost of LL 15,664]

3 minutes ago, Lobo said:

Well, I'll defer to the lawyers.  But I live near some of y'all on this page.  We setup a grill and hand out lunch while supplies last.  And we have a few pops in the meantime.  I know of two churches in our neck of the woods that are voting locations.  Gonna be a long night of new watching on the 3rd, may as well fuel up.

Well, and especially those folks who may be in line late into the evening.

[Hank Kingsley 21,598]

Great numbers out of Harris County again so far today!

 

[Dahobbs 18,190]

1 minute ago, Hank Kingsley said:

Great numbers out of Harris County again so far today!

 

Wow. That is pretty much the same pace as yesterday (50,000 votes by noon). I didn't expect that. 

[Ghost of LL 15,664]

4 minutes ago, Hank Kingsley said:

Great numbers out of Harris County again so far today!

 

Jeez.

This is the content I am here for.  Any news from other counties?

I see Dallas County didn't report any numbers to SOS yesterday.  Because the Dallas County Clerk is fucking incompetent.

[Texas St. Armadillos 1,388]

How many registered voters are in Harris County?

[LW Goatman 1,129]

Voting is easy.

[Voldemort86 2,259]

17 minutes ago, Ghost of LL said:

Jeez.

This is the content I am here for.  Any news from other counties?

I see Dallas County didn't report any numbers to SOS yesterday.  Because the Dallas County Clerk is fucking incompetent.

Yesterday tarrant county had 42,000

so far today it has 24,000

i’ll probably just suck it up and go on Monday.

[MissingInAction 25,478]

1 hour ago, Hank Scorpio said:

Just voted this morning and it could not have been easier. I just typed in my full name, address, social security number, and JOE BIDEN into my search bar and hit enter. 

I recently became the Prince of Nigeria. We should hang out.

[Pato del Muerto 53,332]

I just spoke with my mother in Georgetown. She said she wanted to vote by mail but when she called the city to ask how they said she has to be 65 or older.  I told her that’s wrong but she insists that’s what she was told. 
suppression attempt or moron city employee using the old rules?

[LurkingHorn 1,091]

 

24 minutes ago, Ghost of LL said:

Jeez.

This is the content I am here for.  Any news from other counties?

I see Dallas County didn't report any numbers to SOS yesterday.  Because the Dallas County Clerk is fucking incompetent.

 

5 minutes ago, Voldemort86 said:

Yesterday tarrant county had 42,000

so far today it has 24,000

i’ll probably just suck it up and go on Monday.

Tarrant County has a live tracker if you want to keep up with it: http://www.tarrantcounty.com/en/elections/Upcoming-Election-Information/Live_Turn_Out_Widget.html

[Nolacycling 893]

We broke our 1st day voting record here in Corpus. 30k

Edited October 14, 2020 by Nolacycling

[Hank Kingsley 21,598]

[immamac 44,199]

Just now, Hank Kingsley said:

sauce?

[Ghost of LL 15,664]

2 minutes ago, Hank Kingsley said:

I really fucking hate those Montgomery County numbers.

[Hank Kingsley 21,598]

3 minutes ago, immamac said:

sauce?

got that pic from this tweet

Edited October 14, 2020 by Hank Kingsley

[Hank Scorpio 17,924]

2 minutes ago, Ghost of LL said:

I really fucking hate Montgomery County.

fify 

[Dahobbs 18,190]

4 minutes ago, Hank Kingsley said:

The Harris, Denton, and to lesser extent Montgomery numbers are clear outliers. I wonder what is driving the difference between those counties and the others? 

[SydneyCarton 49,325]

1 hour ago, Dahobbs said:

This doesn't sound right. They should have had you fill out a provisional ballot (or maybe that is what they did). Maybe Harris County has added a capability that I'm not aware of, but "an electronic process. . . to disregard. . . a mail-in ballot" isn't consistent with the clerk's FAQ or may general understanding of how these are handled. 

https://harrisvotes.com/FAQ#BallotByMailFAQ

 

That's not what happened. But I will say, something weird DID happen. They told me to sign at a spot what said I was sent a ballot I didn't solicit. I almost argued that I DID solicit it, but let it go for simplicity. But I thought about it. What absolutely happened is I filled out two different forms, they seemingly invalidated the mail-in ballot that is floating out  there, then they gave me my 4 digit number and told me to use any  voting station on the left. 

[Dahobbs 18,190]

4 minutes ago, Ghost of LL said:

I really fucking hate those Montgomery County numbers.

I guess we'll find out if the suburban house-wife is truly motivated to ouster or re-elect Trump. 

[Hank Kingsley 21,598]

Just now, Dahobbs said:

The Harris, Denton, and to lesser extent Montgomery numbers are clear outliers. I wonder what is driving the difference between those counties and the others? 

Hidalgo has been killing it for Harris County. 

 

[Dahobbs 18,190]

1 minute ago, SydneyCarton said:

That's not what happened. But I will say, something weird DID happen. They told me to sign at a spot what said I was sent a ballot I didn't solicit. I almost argued that I DID solicit it, but let it go for simplicity. But I thought about it. What absolutely happened is I filled out two different forms, they seemingly invalidated the mail-in ballot that is floating out  there, then they gave me my 4 digit number and told me to use any  voting station on the left. 

Hopefully it is fine, but I don't think they handled it correctly. 

[Dahobbs 18,190]

1 minute ago, Hank Kingsley said:

Hidalgo has been killing it for Harris County. 

 

She has been pretty awesome. The concern about her inexperience and replacing Emmett was clearly misplaced. 

[SydneyCarton 49,325]

1 minute ago, Dahobbs said:

Hopefully it is fine, but I don't think they handled it correctly. 

Probably not, but I'm very confident my vote counted, which is all I give a fuck about at this point. 

[SydneyCarton 49,325]

42 minutes ago, Hank Kingsley said:

Great numbers out of Harris County again so far today!

 

 

38 minutes ago, Dahobbs said:

Wow. That is pretty much the same pace as yesterday (50,000 votes by noon). I didn't expect that. 

 

If you guys want to consider something batshit insane in regards to local government and voter apathy, consider that more people voted yesterday in Harris County than showed up to vote for our Mayor. After tomorrow more people will have voted in Harris County for president this cycle than showed up in an election and run-off to select our mayor:

 

Incumbent mayor Sylvester Turner defeated attorney Tony Buzbee in the runoff by 56.04% to 43.96%. No candidate won a majority of the vote during the general election on November 5, 2019 where Turner received 47% of the vote and Buzbee received 28%.

Candidate: Sylvester Turner

Runoff vote: 113,262

Runoff percentage: 56.04%

First round vote: 111,789

 

2 minutes ago, Hank Kingsley said:

Hidalgo has been killing it for Harris County. 

 

She's fucking amazing. She has a tremendous future, I only hope she doesn't go for too much too fast. 

[gyroprotagonist 2,597]

32 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

I just spoke with my mother in Georgetown. She said she wanted to vote by mail but when she called the city to ask how they said she has to be 65 or older.  I told her that’s wrong but she insists that’s what she was told. 
suppression attempt or moron city employee using the old rules?

Technically, I think that is correct, but that is just 1 of the automatic acceptance cases.  65 or older is an automatic acceptance case.  On the mail in/absentee ballot there is a section to claim a medical issue where voting in person may be difficult/not possible.  Anyone can claim a medical need to vote by mail.  You don't need a doctor's note or anything like that.  My understanding from reading about it is that there will/would never be an 'investigation' into the reason for a medical exception.  There is not a Covid clause and I don't think the form was updated in any way because of the pandemic.

here is the form to complete to vote by mail.  https://webservices.sos.state.tx.us/forms/5-15f.pdf

 

Edited October 14, 2020 by gyroprotagonist

[Wulaw Horn 19,560]

18 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

They also couldn't keep Obama out in 2008 and 2012.  And as others said, here in Texas, they are loud as fuck and make sure everybody on social media knows who they are.

Their problem is that they have a definite ceiling here in Texas.  Most of those two million+ new Texas voters over the past few years are not Trump supporters - they didn't sit out 2016 and then all of the sudden discover they liked Trump.

Trump and Co. could be getting those voters out to the poles today, but like I said, they've got a ceiling.  Maybe by tomorrow, we'll have a good picture of what counties here (outside of the Houston/Dallas/Austin/SA areas) are seeing record numbers.

I have 3 people that work for me that came from liberal states. They are voting Trump. One of them silently and 2 of them that won't shut up about it.  They claim that it's the conservatives moving to Texas to escape CA. I don't think I believe them. I bet if you did a migrant voter poll of ex Californians you'd see that the politics of the people moving out match the politics of the people in the state in general.  But I'm guessing. That's all. 

[Wulaw Horn 19,560]

32 minutes ago, Ghost of LL said:

I really fucking hate those Montgomery County numbers.

Why? It's not enough votes to matter. It's swamped by Harris County.  Montgomery County has been growing like crazy so I doubt it's some through line that says something special about other areas of the state that are Trump like being specially activated.  I think it just is.   Do you think it portends something larger?  I don't see anything in any polls or model that show that it will mean anything.  

[Huckleberry 34,407]

Yeah, I don't see Montgomery County being more pro-Trump this year than 2016. Maybe a wash.

2016: Trump 73.9%, Clinton 22.5%
2018: Cruz 72.2%, O'Rourke 27.0%

[Gap03 3,374]

39 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

 

 

If you guys want to consider something batshit insane in regards to local government and voter apathy, consider that more people voted yesterday in Harris County than showed up to vote for our Mayor. After tomorrow more people will have voted in Harris County for president this cycle than showed up in an election and run-off to select our mayor:

 

Incumbent mayor Sylvester Turner defeated attorney Tony Buzbee in the runoff by 56.04% to 43.96%. No candidate won a majority of the vote during the general election on November 5, 2019 where Turner received 47% of the vote and Buzbee received 28%.

Candidate: Sylvester Turner

Runoff vote: 113,262

Runoff percentage: 56.04%

First round vote: 111,789

 

She's fucking amazing. She has a tremendous future, I only hope she doesn't go for too much too fast. 

Rachel Maddow had Chris Hollins, the interim Harris County Clerk, on last evening.  It's a bit amazing how the planets have aligned for Harris County to get two young stars into positions to help Houston through some really challenging times.  I hadn't heard anything about him, but he has a pretty impressive background - McKinsey, Wachtell, Goldman and the White House, all before he turned 33 years old.  

Quote

Before transitioning into private practice, Chris attained a strong strategic skill set by working at some of the world’s most distinguished professional service firms. He was a Senior Engagement Manager at global consultancy McKinsey & Company, where he flourished in applying analytics and organizational best practice to transform public safety, defense and security agencies. Chris was also a Summer Associate with Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and the investment bank Goldman Sachs. Despite his private sector background, Chris’s most memorable professional experience ensued through his time with the White House Office of Presidential Personnel during the first year of the Obama administration.

https://www.starcouriernews.com/2020/06/attorney-chris-hollins-new-harris-county-clerk/

Edited October 14, 2020 by Gap03