Lubbock County election workers spent Monday preparing more than 30 polling locations for Election Day, following record early voting turnout across the county. Nearly 81,000 residents cast ballots during early voting, according to Elections Administrator Troy Havard, who said he expects an equal or greater number of voters on Tuesday. Havard said early voting turnout was higher than in any midterm year in the past 20 years.
Workers assembled voting machines and secured them with serialized tracking seals at 36 polling locations, including the Student Union Building at Texas Tech University. Havard said poll workers will re-verify the seal numbers Tuesday morning. Representatives from both major political parties will monitor the safety procedures, he said. Equipment returning to the election office will be live-streamed online.
Polls will be open Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voters in line by 7 p.m. will be allowed to vote, and sites will stay open until everyone in line has cast a ballot. Because Lubbock County uses vote centers, voters can go to any location in the county, Havard said. He suggested voters print a sample ballot, make their choices ahead of time and bring it into the booth. Cell phones are not allowed in the booth, and voters must show an acceptable photo identification.