Early Voting — What to Know
- Election Day Voter Guide: Find key dates, how to check your voter status, how to find out where and when you can vote early and on Election Day, and what you'll need to bring with you to the polls.
- When is Election Day? Tuesday, Nov. 5, is Election Day. On that day, polls will be open in Texas from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. You'll be allowed to vote if you're in line by 7 p.m. on Election Day.
- Where can I vote early? Early voting runs from Monday, Oct. 21, through Friday, Nov. 1. Click here for early voting hours and locations for Collin, Dallas, Denton and Tarrant counties.
- How many people have voted early? A record number of people voted early on Monday, the first day of early voting. Click here to see daily early voting totals from Collin, Dallas, Denton and Tarrant counties and to compare them to previous years.
- Who is on the ballot? Click the links to filter races by category or county: Federal races | State races | Collin County | Dallas County | Denton County | Tarrant County
- How can I vote by mail? The deadline is coming up. Everything you need to know is here.
Election workers across North Texas continue to help voters vote early. It's a key part of a lengthy process that will reach well past Election Day.
According to Donald Palmer, vice chair of the Election Assistance Commission, more than a million Americans will volunteer or work as poll workers nationwide this election.
“This is a bipartisan process. Both poll workers and observers of the process of both political parties. There may be questions of 'Did we count all the ballots? Did we make sure everything was accounted for at the polling place," said Palmer.
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Appointed by then-President Donald Trump in 2019, Palmer told NBC 5 on Tuesday that he expects this election to be fair and transparent like others he's worked on. Thousands of people from both parties will participate through election judges, poll workers, and watchers.
“There’s a chain of custody that takes place. Both parties are going to have observers, plus poll workers, on the ground. So they’re going to ask these questions if something has arisen that doesn’t make sense, and they’ll get that reconciled before final certification," said Palmer.
Election administrators in North Texas worked through some equipment hiccups, misunderstandings, and delays this past week but generally kept the election free from problems and major disputes.
They told us before early voting, they were prepared for early voting.
"‘I think we’re going into this feeling like we’re ready for the election," said Bruce Sherbet, Collin County Election Administrator before early voting.
“We’ve been ready for early voting since September 19. The ballots have been mailed out. The ballots are coming back. Poll workers have been trained and are ready for early voting," said Heider Garcia, Dallas County Election Administrator.
Commissioner Palmer told NBC 5 that the process won't end on election day but when the official results are certified after the canvass. Texas has nearly two weeks of audits and checks before the local results are officially certified.