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.
Early voting has begun in Texas for the 2024 statewide election. The most closely watched race in the state is between Senator Ted Cruz and Congressman Colin Allred, D - Dallas. Down the home stretch, both candidates are trying to win over swing moderate voters with endorsements from across the aisle.
For the campaigns, it's all about turnout now. Both candidates voted early on Monday. Sen. Cruz voted in his Houston neighborhood. Rep. Allred did the same in his longtime Dallas neighborhood.
“I want to encourage every Texan to come out and vote. Vote early," said Sen. Cruz.
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"I’m so excited that there’s a long line and Texans are turning out and excited to vote," said Allred.
Each of them is hoping for cross-over voters: Republicans voting for Allred, Democrats voting for Cruz. And they're both campaigning alongside members of the other party to make it easier for that to happen.
For Cruz, he's earned the endorsement of Kim Ogg, the outgoing Democratic district attorney from Harris County.
"I'm a Democrat. I’ve remained in my party but I don’t like the left-leaning direction, especially when it comes to criminals," Ogg told NBC 5.
A key tipping point for her was the killing of Jocelyn Nungaray, a teenage girl from Houston. Two men who came into the country illegally are the accused killers.
Ogg says Cruz was better to work with on public safety issues.
“No, I’m not endorsing the Republican platform. I endorsed Senator Cruz because of his position on public safety and he wanted to help crime victims and I do too," said Ogg.
On Monday, Cruz also picked up the endorsement of former Texas State Senator Eddie Lucio Jr., a conservative Democrat from the Rio Grande Valley. He's also launched a "Democrats for Cruz" group to try his shed his reputation as a conservative firebrand and bomb thrower.
Congressman Allred has racked up a list of Republican supporters as well. Some of the most notable are former Congresswoman Liz Cheney, R - Wyoming, and her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney. Then, there's former Congressman Adam Kinzinger.
“I know him to be a centrist. I know he wants to work with both sides," Kinzinger told NBC 5.
The "Republicans for Allred" group believes Senator Cruz is too partisan, particularly with his vote against the bipartisan border security bill and his objection to the 2020 presidential election results in Congress.
“If we actually want to fix the border. If we actually want to fix crime. You’re not going to do it by voting against every bipartisan bill that comes in front of you like Ted Cruz has done, including the biggest border security bill ever," said Kinzinger.
In recent days, Cruz for his part has campaigned that Allred is out of step with Texas voters when it comes to transgender laws. Allred argues Cruz's campaign trip shows he doesn't care about his voters.
Voters will decide who makes the better cross-over pitch on Nov. 5.
