Excitement over the tight 2016 presidential race drove a record number of early voters to the polls in Texas, a state known for low turnout.
On the final day of early voting, Texans rushed to the polls to cast ballots before the big Election Day finally arrives Tuesday.
Early voting in Texas ends when the polls close at 7 p.m. Friday.
According to the Texas Secretary of State’s Office, the number of registered voters to vote early is up six percent, compared to the last two presidential elections. Those numbers do not include people who hit the ballot box Friday.
“We’re seeing that it is a significant uptick and could be reflective of larger numbers come election day, or it could just be reflective of people who are ready to cast their ballots,” said Alicia Pierce, communications Director for the Texas Secretary of State.
Many early voters said they decided to vote early because they want the election to end.
“Every time you turn on your computer or the TV, it’s hard to ignore,” one early voter said outside a polling location in Austin. After a long sigh she added, “I’ll be glad when it’s over.”
Pierce said the Secretary of State’s Office has fielded a “limited number” of calls from Texans who voted early and are second guessing their decision.
Donald Trump referred to it as “buyer’s remorse.”
In light of a late-campaign twist, the FBI’s renewed interest in Hillary Clinton’s private email server,
Trump urged early voters to return to the polls to vote for him.
“They’ll void you’re old ballot, they’ll give you a new ballot,” Trump explained to a crowd in Colorado this week.
At a rally in Wisconsin Tuesday, Trump said “A lot of stuff has come out since you voted.”
A handful of states allow voters to recast early and/or absentee ballots but Texas is not one of those states.
Pierce said, “Once you push ‘cast ballot’ on your voting machine, your vote is cast,” she added that there is a “confirmation screen for a reason.”
She advises voters to carefully review their selections because once the vote is cast, there is no changing it.
As for Trump’s claims of voting flipping in Texas, Pierce said the Secretary of State’s Office has not been able to find one verifiable case of that.
She did note that if you cast a straight, one-party, ticket and then try to do what’s called ‘emphasize vote’ and vote again for an individual candidate that could deselect your choice.
For anyone who runs into trouble at the polls, Pierce said, “Let your poll worker know so they can help you they can make sure the vote gets cast correctly and so that if there are any problems, they can be reported.”
None of the votes are counted until after the polls close at 7 p.m. on Election Day.
For information on how or where to vote, you can go to the Secretary of State’s website at www.voteTexas.gov and for individual questions call 1-800-252-VOTE.