The Vote And Voting Problems, Pre-Election Day 2020
Houston Voting Goes Late Night, And Then All Night
There’s been a lot of buzz about attempts to restrict voting in Texas, but in Harris County, election officials are dealing with record-breaking turnout by expanding the opportunities to vote for people living in Houston and its suburbs.
For the rest of this week, Houstonians living in Harris County can vote at night – until 10 p.m. at the county’s 122 voting locations. The three extra hours extend through the end of early voting on Friday.
And if that’s not late enough, night-owl voters can cast their early ballots around the clock this Thursday at eight locations in the city, including a voting mega center at NRG Arena.
On Oct. 23, Harris County blew past the mark of 1 million votes cast. As of Monday, nearly 8 million Texans had already voted, with four more days of early voting to go. Just under 9 million Texans voted in the entire presidential election in 2016.
Some Houston-area voters said fears about legal wrangling, lack of access and mail-in ballot rejections drove them to vote early and in person.
“I certainly feel better doing it in person,” voter Daniel Brunmhoelzl told ABC13 in Houston on Monday. “The mail-in ballot, I’ve heard stories nationally, and so I just felt better doing it in person. I think that is the safest way.”
Reader Question: Tracking Your Ballot
Corey Redmond from Austin, Texas: Can we get a FiveThirtyEight-made investigation into which places allow you to track/verify your vote across the U.S.?
Assuming you’re referring to mail votes, sure thing! At least 44 states plus Washington, D.C., now have online portals where you can track your absentee ballot. Unfortunately, though, Corey, your home state of Texas is one of the exceptions! The rest of you can find a link to your state’s portal by heading to our “How To Vote In 2020” page, clicking on your state and checking under the “Submitting an absentee ballot” section.
Supreme Court Has Sided With Republicans In Wisconsin Election Lawsuit
We just got an answer to one of our six “unresolved questions” from earlier. In a 5-3 ruling along ideological lines, the Supreme Court has upheld a lower court ruling that absentee ballots in Wisconsin must be received by Election Day, not just postmarked by then. Voting-rights groups had been fighting for a receipt date of Nov. 9.