Millions of Texans will vote on Tuesday, but over half of the state’s registered voters have already done so.
Following a highly criticized election in 2022, Harris County removed the election administrator post and delegated authority to the county clerk, Teneshia Hudspeth. She stated that they are well prepared for Tuesday’s vote.
“This is going to be intriguing. “It is a critical time in our country,” poll worker Garfield Teixeira stated.
Teixeria has served on the front lines in a variety of capacities.
She spent 22 years in the army before joining the democratic movement.
“We are like Santa’s helpers. “We’re like elves,” Teixeira explained.
For Teixeira, a voting station represents one of Santa’s numerous workshops.
She’s been helping out in Brazoria County during early voting.
“On Friday, we had many first-time voters. We greeted them and told them we should have a bell. “For example, when you buy a car, you ring and acknowledge them,” Teixeira explained.
So far, 8.9 million Texans have voted early, both in person and via mail-in ballots. That represents around 47% of the 18.6 million registered voters.
It is lower than the vote percentage in 2020 (57%), but due to the pandemic, we had an extra week of early voting.
“The turnout has been tremendous,” Teixeira added.
The scrutiny of the election process has intensified, putting more pressure on poll workers to execute properly.
“I always check my facts and update myself because… from one election to the next. That is a significant amount of time,” said Shaikil Grisham, who had worked as a poll worker before moving to Texas.
The Department of Justice uses election monitors to keep track of any violations.
Top Texas election officials informed the DOJ on Friday that polling places in Texas do not allow election monitors.
The government had already announced intentions to dispatch devices to eight Texas counties.
The Texas Secretary of State will dispatch monitors to Harris County. The county welcomes the monitors, as it has in prior elections.