1st day of early voting brings long lines in Houston area

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — The first day of early voting in Texas is already off to a fast start as lines could be seen wrapped around some polling locations.

At Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, talked to voters who woke up at 4 a.m. to make sure they could cast their ballot. They even brought chairs and snacks.

“I have a ballot here that I was going to fill out and put in the mail, but I thought it would be more important for me to come and vote in person because I wanted to make sure my vote got counted,” said 86-year-old Helen Cashaw. ”

Others made it a family affair.

“My sister got here at 5:30. I picked up my mom. My dad’s on the way, so we’re voting as a family,” said Ivalyn Patterson-Cockrell.

At the church, Pastor Dr. Marcus Cosby is on hand to greet voters.

The Houston Food Bank on Portwall is a drive-thru polling location. There, SkyEye spotted a driver who wasn’t shy about getting out the vote, pulling up in an SUV wrapped as the American flag.

While you’re out voting, be sure to thank the student poll workers.

The Harris County Clerk’s Office says they hired about 1,700 student election workers to help out with early voting, Election Day and election night drop offs.

Some of these students are not even old enough to vote yet, but applied for the positions and said they wanted to help out and be part of the election process.

Virtual training was held a few months ago, and students learned how to assemble voting machines and operate voting equipment. At least one student will be at each polling location.

spoke to three students, who are all 17 years old and incredibly passionate about their role in helping with this election.

“You have to appreciate the system of democracy, and to keep that system going, I decided to help out and do my part,” said high school junior Cameron Dyptan.

“I’m going to help set up electronics and make sure everything is working and functional and monitor the lines and have a count of everyone that’s there,” said Taylor O’Sullivan, a high school senior.

“The student election program has been getting more and more popular. According to the Harris County Clerk’s Office, they saw a 43% jump in applications from students since the Nov. 2019 elections, and these students are also earning some extra money for their time.

“I’m very interested in politics, and I took debate class in high school, and I’m still taking it, and we go over US politics all the time,” said high school junior Alexander Dyptan.

This year, early voting runs from Oct. 13 – 30.

The last day to apply for a mail-in-ballot is Oct. 23. The deadline for mail-in ballots to be returned to the county is Nov. 3.

Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.