Early Voting Ends Friday in Harris County: Polls Open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Any Registered Voter Can Use Any Vote Center
Friday, October 30 is the last day to vote early in the November 3 election. Here is the county's own guidance - hours, the any-center rule, and what to bring.
HOUSTON - Early voting for the November 3 general election ends Friday, October 30, and Harris County's polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. for the final day, the same hours the county has run all week. Harris County uses a countywide Vote Center model, which means a registered county voter is not restricted to one assigned location: any registered voter may cast a ballot at any of the county's 75 early voting centers, and the county's interactive map shows locations and estimated wait times.
Voters should bring an acceptable form of photo ID. Under the county's published guidance, voters aged 18 to 69 may use an approved photo ID expired by up to four years, and voters 70 and older may use one expired longer than that. A voter without a photo ID may fill out a Reasonable Impediment declaration and use a supporting document - a voter registration certificate, a certified birth certificate, or a current utility bill, bank statement, paycheck or government document showing their name and an address. Library cards are not acceptable ID. Voters without ID or a supporting document with them may vote provisionally and cure their ballot at a county branch location within six days after the election.
A few mechanics worth knowing before you go: a printed sample ballot or handwritten notes may be brought in, but phones, tablets and other electronic devices may not be used within 100 feet of a Vote Center entrance. Anyone who needs help reading the ballot may bring an assistant, who must be sworn in by the presiding judge. And a voter who received a mail ballot but would rather vote in person should bring the mail ballot to surrender it; without it, election workers will set the voter up to vote provisionally.
After Friday, the next chance to vote is Election Day itself - Tuesday, November 3, when Vote Centers are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and the same any-center rule applies. The county advises voters to confirm their location close to the time they plan to go, since Vote Center information can be updated as preparations continue.
