Voting in the 2020 election
An unprecedented election
The 2020 Election has seen the expansion of mail in voting, polling locations in Harris County and record-breaking voter participation.
Millions of voters will utilize mail-in ballots for the first time, while others queue up for the polls with extra precautions in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Harris County judge Lina Hidalgo says the county doubled the number of polling locations compared to previous elections. Hidalgo attempted to expand mail-in ballot drop boxes, but was met with resistance from Governor Greg Abbott.
The state requires mail-in voters to travel to a single drop-off location to deliver their ballots. The early voting period was extended for an additional week by Abbott to allow Texans additional time to get to the polls prior to election day.
Despite expanded mail-in ballot drop off boxes and early voting period changes challenged by Texas Republicans, Harris County has superseded records for early voters participating in the election. AP reports this election may be the most litigated election since 2000.
For the first time, UHCL is hosting an early voting polling location on campus in the Bayou Building Garden Room. For election day, voting will take place in the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center. The Office of Student Involvement and Leadership worked to deputize staff as voter registrars in order to register students to vote.
“I believe that the UHCL community should vote because it is our civic responsibility as citizens of this country,” said Dillon Nash, coordinator for student organizations and activities. “There are many countries across the world that do not have the opportunity to vote. Voting is important and helps shape the future of not only your life but all American’s lives in the United States.”
The first day of early voting at UHCL saw 1500 voters cast ballots, maintaining about 1000 per day for the first 4-5 days, dropping in the second week to 600-800 voters per day, with numbers dropping again in the final week of early voting to 380 votes as of 3:30 p.m. for Oct. 27.
“As of October 26, more than 11,000 voters have cast ballots [at UHCL],” said Cassy Casados, presiding election judge for the UHCL polling location. “From what I have heard and seen, I am shocked by the number of people that are turning out to vote. I have been working election and polling places for the past two years and it is normally small locations where 50-75 people will vote in a whole day, so seeing this type of turnout even at a college campus where people are passionate in general about an election is really crazy to me. I think being so young it is really important for me to see this type of turnout, whether I agree with the people voting or not.”
What do voters need to vote?
Before heading to the polls, voters should verify their registration and find their polling location via VoteTexas.gov. In order to vote at the chosen polling location, be sure to bring one of the acceptable forms of voter ID.
Voters seeking sample ballots to bring into the polling booth may visit Vote411.org, which presents each candidate’s basic biographical information and views on issues applicable to the position for which they are running. Upon completion, these sample ballots can be printed and used to make voting easier and faster at the booth.
Registered voters should know their rights, as well as the rules and expectations at the polls. Texas law states: “a person may not wear a badge, insignia, emblem, or other similar communicative device relating to a candidate, measure, or political party appearing on the ballot … in the polling place,” so voters should avoid wearing shirts, hats, or masks which advertise a particular candidate, party or issue.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sent a letter to county election administrators clarifying that per Abbott’s executive order regarding masks, polling locations may not require voters to wear masks at polling locations.
Harris County is offering a variety of precautions for voters, including hand sanitizing stations in the queue and finger covers for use with the machines. Masks are also available to those who request them from poll workers.
Finally, Texas law does not permit the usage of wireless communication devices within 100 feet of the polling location, so voters should not take selfies or use their phones at the polling booth, in or around the polling location. Those seeking to document their experience or encourage others to vote via social media should wait until they are outside of the polling location’s 100 foot markers to do so.
Clearing up confusion
Texas courts initially challenged Abbott’s extension of early voting, but ruled in favor of Abbott and upheld the extension of the early voting period from Oct. 13 to Oct. 30, providing voters an additional 6 days to vote early.
Additional changes include the removal of the straight-ticket ballot option by legislators and Abbott, signed in 2017, to begin in Fall 2020. The law was appealed in Federal courts, but not in time to restore the straight-ticket option for the 2020 election. For this reason, voters need to select each candidate for each race individually.
Harris County, one of the largest counties in the nation, made national news for Abbott’s rejection of its plan to place multiple mail-in ballot dropoff boxes throughout the county. This decision continues to be appealed, but one dropoff box for mail-in ballots is open for voters in Harris County. Voters who qualify for mail-in ballots must submit applications for them by Oct. 23 and return them by Nov. 3.
What to expect on Election night
Although voters are used to knowing the results of the election the night of, this year is liable to be different because of the high volume of mail-in ballots. The counting of these ballots begins on election day and continues through the days following election night. Because of this change, it is estimated that the results of the election could change in the days following Nov. 3 as mail-in ballots are counted.
The Signal will conduct live coverage of election night via Twitter from the time the polls close at 7 p.m. until 10 p.m. Reported wins for state and county-level races during that time period will be announced via @TheSignalCast account on Twitter and UHCL The Signal’s page on Facebook. The following morning, winners of the races not documented the previous night will be announced via Twitter and Facebook.
Because UHCL’s campuses are located in Harris County, results will only be reported for Harris county at the regional level. For results on races in neighboring counties, visit VoteTexas.gov.
