Early voters started rolling up to the Metropolitan Multi-Service Center on West Gray about an hour before the polls opened Monday morning. Seventy-year-old Sherry Browning played Snoop Dogg on her cell phone in the parking lot, encouraging people to dance and join her “political cheerleaders” group.
The cool weather and good vibes apparently had a hand in luring people to the polls. By 10 a.m., just three hours into early voting, more than 21,000 Harris County residents cast ballots, said County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth.
“I hope to see record turnout over the next 12 days,” she said. “The activity this morning was full of excitement. There were people lined up as early as 6 o’clock at some of our voting centers, waiting for the doors to open. I don’t know that we’re going to have a higher turnout than normal. It’s just a feeling I’ve got in my bones, and I hope it sticks with us from now through Election Day.”
Based on the high volume in the early hours of Monday morning, Hudspeth said, “With that type of momentum, we could possibly break a record on the first day of early voting compared to a previous midterm, but we’ll have to come back and let you know how it goes.”
Harris County Voter Registrar Annette Ramirez cast her ballot Monday morning at the Multi-Service Center on West Gray, following a long weekend of making sure other residents would be able to do the same without any problems.
After working literally around the clock with her team for several days last month to update voter registration rolls in response to a statewide software glitch at the Texas DPS, Ramirez’s office got 2,400 more forms from the Secretary of State’s Office last Thursday and Friday.
Ramirez emphasized that the backlog is now resolved and it was a statewide problem, not something caused by Harris County software or its workers.
“Thanks to our team’s hard work and dedication, we have processed all of the records we have received to date,” she said. “We can breathe a short sigh of relief. There is no backlog now. We had some DPS bumps. We had some Texas Secretary of State bumps, but our office and our team got through those. And although registration is closed out for this election, we’re still up and running. We’ve got a pretty robust call center. As long as the polls are open and there’s a voter voting, our office is open for support.”
And by 8 a.m. on Monday, that call center was taking information from a poll worker at First Congregational Church who found a voter’s name in her computer system but the technology wouldn’t allow her to print the code for the voter to access his individualized ballot. Poll workers phoned the call center — which has operators who speak English, Spanish, Vietnamese and Chinese — to resolve the problem.
About 2.8 million people are now registered to vote in Harris County, about 144,000 more than were on the rolls in 2024, Ramirez said. Residents can check their voter registration status at HCTAX.NET or by calling 713-274-VOTE (8683). Check Harris Votes or download the new smartphone application for polling places, wait times and sample ballots.
“I sure hope there’s a strong turnout,” Ramirez said. “I heard there was a crazy long line out here [at West Gray] at 7 a.m. I’m hopeful that means that not only did we get a large number of people registered in Harris County but that we’re actually getting them turned out to vote. Registering is the first step; showing up to vote is the second. We’ll be pushing that message that we need people to show up at the polls, and we need them to get here early. Don’t wait until the last day.”
Early voting runs through October 30, and Election Day is November 3. Harris County voters can cast early ballots at any of 75 polling places throughout the county. They also don’t have to vote at a particular precinct on Election Day, when more than 600 locations will be available.
It’s possible — even likely — that some voters will arrive at the polls during the early voting period and learn that they’re on the voter suspense list, Ramirez and Hudspeth said. If that happens, they can still vote with a regular, non-provisional ballot; they just need to fill out a Statement of Residence form confirming their address.
Hudspeth said Monday she’s confident that her team is prepared for challenges when the outcomes don’t go the way of a particular candidate or party.
“I follow the election code until the last ballot is counted,” she said. “Candidates can ask for a recount. We hope that doesn’t happen because this election is going to be run so well. Right now we’re just going through the process, but we’re prepared. We don’t take a magic wand and make an election perfect, but they are as successful and as flawless as we could possibly make them.”
Hudspeth, a Democrat who is on the ballot seeking re-election against GOP nominee Mike Wolfe, reiterated the importance of having a voting plan and going to the polls early.
“Average voters will see, depending on where you’re registered, 100 contests,” she said. “We encourage you to vote the entire ballot. As you get closer to the end, those are your most local officials. We hope to see as many Harris County voters out of the 2.8 million registered to get out and vote and make their voices heard.”
