Early Hays voters hit the polls

The first day of early voting got off to a busy start in Hays County, though the day was not without some hiccups.

“It’s pretty busy around the county,” Elections Administrator Jennifer Anderson said in a telephone interview just after 10 a.m. Monday. 

Anderson said that the polling places with highest turnouts in the first two hours of voting were Wimberley, with 189 voters casting their ballots, and the Precinct 2 office in Kyle, with 174 voters. 

At the Hays County Government Center, Anderson said, “They have a line out there.”

There were some difficulties with voting machines in San Marcos Monday morning. Anderson confirmed a social media post that some machines were down. 

“There are two machines here at the Government Center that aren’t working correctly,” Anderson said in an email during the lunch hour. “Once the line is down a bit, we will reboot the system to get them up and running. That takes time, so we want to keep the line moving while it’s busy.”

A line formed at the polling place on the Texas State University campus, inside the LBJ Student Center, where several people posted on social media that things were running smoothly. 

Turnout for the first day of early voting was heavy around the state, according to media reports; the Houston Chronicle called the long lines at Houston polling locations “shocking.” Long lines were also documented in the Dallas area and in San Antonio. 

Early voting continues through Nov. 2. Polling locations for early voting and Election Day, Nov. 6, can be found at on the county's website.