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There is no shortage of issues inspiring Texas voters Tuesday, the last day to vote in the 2022 midterm elections.
The state’s marquee race is between Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and his Democratic challenger, former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke. The two candidates have spent millions of dollars to define the race on their terms.
On Tuesday, we asked voters across the state what issues mattered most to them. Texas Tribune reporters and partner newsrooms — Fort Worth Report, KERA and San Antonio Report — will provide updates throughout the day with stories from around the state.
How do I know if I’m registered to vote?
The deadline to register to vote in the 2022 primary election was Oct. 11. Check if you’re registered to vote here.
When can I vote?
Election day is Nov. 8. Early voting ended Nov. 4.
How do I know if I qualify to vote by mail?
This option is fairly limited in Texas. You’re allowed to vote by mail only if: You will be 65 or older by Election Day, you will not be in your county for the entire span of voting, including early voting, you cite a sickness or disability that prevents you from voting in person without needing personal assistance or without the likelihood of injuring your health, you’re expected to give birth within three weeks before or after Election Day or you are confined in jail but otherwise eligible (i.e., not convicted of a felony).
Are polling locations the same on election day as they are during early voting?
Not always. You’ll want to check for open polling locations with your local elections office before you head out to vote. Additionally, you can confirm with your county elections office whether election day voting is restricted to locations in your designated precinct or if you can cast a ballot at any polling place.
How can I find which polling places are near me?
County election offices are supposed to post on their websites information on polling locations for Election Day and during the early-voting period by Oct. 18. The secretary of state’s website will also have information on polling locations closer to the start of voting. However, polling locations may change, so be sure to check your county’s election website before going to vote.
What form of ID do I need to bring to vote?
You’ll need one of seven types of valid photo ID to vote in Texas: A state driver’s license, a Texas election ident ification certificate, a Texas personal identification card, a Texas license to carry a handgun, a U.S. military ID card with a personal photo, a U.S. citizenship certificate with a personal photo or a U.S. passport. Voters can still cast votes without those IDs if they sign a form swearing that they have a “reasonable impediment” from obtaining a proper photo ID or use a provisional ballot. Find more details here.
What can I do if I have trouble voting?
You can contact your county elections official or call the Texas Secretary of State’s helpline at 1-800-252-VOTE (8683). A coalition of voting rights groups is also helping voters navigate election concerns through the 866-OUR-VOTE (687-8683) voter-protection helpline. The coalition also has hotlines available in other languages and for Texans with disabilities.
A stroke couldn’t keep this veteran from voting on Election Day
LUFKIN — Slade Allison is still in pain from a stroke he suffered three weeks ago. But pain did not stop him from getting to the polls on the morning of Election Day to cast his ballot for Gov. Greg Abbott and a slate of Republican candidates.
“I would have someone bring me out in a gurney and push the buttons to vote if I had to,” Allison said after he cast his ballot at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Lufkin, the largest city in East Texas’ Angelina County. “We have to get the right party in there.”
Veteran Slade Allison says border safety, communism and abortion are among the reasons he voted Republican in Lufkin on Tuesday.
Credit:
Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune
Allison asked a friend to drive him to the polls because the stroke caused nerve damage in his left leg and has made it difficult for him to walk. The 72-year-old retired army veteran voted straight Republican and said he is most concerned with border security and the sanctity of the legal system.
Calling the Federal Bureau of Investigations “corrupt,” Allison said the Democratic Party has swung too far to the left.
“The country is in shambles,” Allison said. “I believe there’s no Democratic Party. There’s the Republican Party and the Communist Party.”
Although Texas has banned all abortions except to save the life of a pregnant person, Allison believes abortions are “running rampant” and must be stopped.
Allison was one of several Lufkin voters who said they are concerned about the economy and the lack of jobs in Lufkin. To boost the state’s economy, Allison said, the country should stop importing oil from foreign countries and instead invest more in the nation’s oil and gas industry. — Pooja Salhorta, Texas Tribune
A local ballot question that would decriminalize marijuana got this Denton voter’s attention
DENTON — Elizabeth Garcia, a third-year music student at the University of North Texas in Denton, said the importance of this election hit like a wave Monday night.
“Oh my gosh, I didn’t know how much the election was impacting me until, like, yesterday, when all my family members were discussing it and talking about it,” Garcia said.
Denton has a large student population, with just under 60,000 students enrolled across two universities: about 44,500 at UNT, and about 15,000 more at Texas Woman’s University. Students make up a huge share of the city’s 148,000 residents.
University of North Texas student Elizabeth Garcia stands next to a sign for the Gateway Center, where they voted on Election Day in Denton.
Credit:
Jacob Wells / KERA News
Signs reading “Vote for Prop B” stand outside of the Gateway Center at the University of North Texas. Proposition B would decriminalize misdemeanor marijuana possession in Denton.
As the polls opened, a few people trickled into the UNT polling place at the Gateway Center. Garcia was among the first people to cast their ballots Tuesday morning. They voted for Democrat Beto O’Rourke and gave reasons both policy-based and personal: fixing the state power grid, expanding health care for people with PTSD and overturning the state’s abortion ban.
But they also zeroed in on one key measure: marijuana legalization.
Texas legalized hemp and CBD in 2019, but THC — the chemical in the cannabis plant that gets you high — is still illegal. O’Rourke said he would push to change that.
Denton voters like Garcia also will weigh in on a marijuana decriminalization measure. Under Proposition B, the drug would still not be legalized — a move that can only be made at the state level — but the ordinance aims to eliminate citations and arrests for misdemeanor marijuana possession in most cases.
Supporters say it would also stop Denton police from using the smell of pot as probable cause in a vehicle or home search and would end citations for drug paraphernalia.
Garcia said that would go a long way to helping her grandmother, who is dealing with her third cancer diagnosis. The stigma associated with marijuana use and its illegal status has kept her from using it therapeutically, Garcia said.
“At this point, like, we’ve just got to let her live. We can’t continue to be giving her all these treatments and be putting her through all this suffering,” Garcia said. “So if that stigma from marijuana was removed, maybe my grandma would be more eager to jump on that, I guess, ‘recreational’ use.” — Jacob Wells, KERA
Pedro Olivarez, a new father, says he felt he needed to vote for his daughter and her future rights when he cast his ballot at the Las Palmas Library voting site in San Antonio on Election Day.
Credit:
Scott Stephen Ball
San Antonio man hopes for even a ‘small change’ to abortion access
SAN ANTONIO — As he stood in line behind eight people, Pedro Olivarez thought of his 2-month-old daughter Emilia and let his mind travel forward in time to imagine her as a young woman.
“When she’s older, she should have the right to do what she wants with her body,” Olivarez said after walking out of the polling place Tuesday. “It’s common sense.”
Olivarez, 26, said baby Emilia was his driving motivation to get to the polls 10 minutes before they opened. The new father voted at Las Palmas Library on San Antonio’s West Side, a traditionally Democratic area that has been the focus of Republican efforts to sway Hispanic voters by emphasizing the party’s traditional values.
A consistent voter, Olivarez said he cast his votes for Democrats up and down the ballot as usual, driven more by interest in statewide races and issues than in local ones.
While his family members voted early, Olivarez chose to wait until Election Day. And Texas’ recent moves to end abortion rights were a motivating factor for him.
“I’ll take anything, even if it’s a small change, to push Texas in the right way to have the rights for women that they need that they don’t have now,” he said. “Any small stride is a win in my book.”
While no candidates knocked on his door to campaign, Olivarez said he received a variety of flyers in his mailbox from candidates whose names he said he couldn’t remember.
After he voted, Olivarez walked toward a growing crowd awaiting the arrival of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke. When he arrived, Olivarez stood by to listen and made a video recording of O’Rourke on his iPhone. — Raquel Torres, San Antonio Report
Pedro Olivarez watches San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg introduce gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke at the Las Palmas Library voting site in San Antonio, Texas on Tuesday.
Credit:
Scott Ball / San Antonio Report
Disclosure: The University of North Texas has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit statewide news organization dedicated to keeping Texans informed on politics and policy issues that impact their communities. This election season, Texans around the state will turn to The Texas Tribune for the information they need on voting, election results, analysis of key races and more. Get the latest.