Election Day in Harris County: Polls Open at 7, a Record 1,081,010 Votes Already In, and a Ballot That Runs From U.S. Senate to a Houston Marijuana-and-No-Knock Referendum

HOUSTON - After a record early vote, Election Day is here in Harris County: polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. Tuesday, and anyone already in line at the cutoff will be permitted to vote.

The early numbers are the story before a single Tuesday ballot is cast. Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth reported that 1,081,010 residents voted early, including mail ballots - 39.37 percent of the county's 2.7 million registered voters, a midterm record. Statewide, Texans elect a governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and a member of the U.S. Senate, alongside dozens of district judge races. The Senate race is the closest watch in the state: a Texas Southern University poll of 2,000 likely voters put Democrat James Talarico 2 points ahead of Republican Ken Paxton, and the Press reported a separate poll showing Gov. Greg Abbott 3 points ahead of Democrat Gina Hinojosa in the governor's race.

Harris County chooses a new county judge: Lina Hidalgo is not seeking a third term, and former Houston City Council member Letitia Plummer, a Democrat, faces former county treasurer Orlando Sanchez, a Republican - a Hobby School poll put Plummer ahead 47 percent to 40 percent, with close to half of voters saying they did not yet know enough about either candidate. Two county commissioners, Lesley Briones and Adrian Garcia, also seek re-election.

Down the ballot, the local measures carry real consequences. Houston voters decide a combined proposition, placed on the ballot by Ground Game Texas through petition, to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana and eliminate the Houston Police Department's ability to serve no-knock warrants - Mayor John Whitmire has said possession of less than 2 ounces is already a low enforcement priority. Cypress-Fairbanks ISD voters decide a $1.63 billion bond package and a 12-cent voter-approved tax rate election, and League City voters decide whether to order Flock Safety license-plate cameras disabled within 72 hours of the results being certified.

The vote will be watched, literally. Hudspeth confirmed the U.S. Department of Justice is sending federal election monitors to Harris County on Election Day to ensure compliance with federal voting rights laws; she said monitors are expected in plain clothes, may be stationed outside the 100-foot electioneering boundary, and may ask exiting voters about their experience - participation is voluntary. Voters can call the county election hotline at 713-755-6965 with complaints or questions. Rice University's Michael Emerson, of the Baker Institute, warned in the Press preview that with so many races close, the final score may not be known on election night.