With early voting ending Friday and Election Day taking place Tuesday, voters are reminded to “take advantage of early voting,” an elections administrator says.
As of Wednesday, the early voting count for Cameron County was 69,288 and for Hidalgo County, 134,380.
Remi Garza, Cameron County elections administrator, said an increase in voter turnout was expected due to the increase in overall registered voters.
“We have a lot of people going to the polling places,” Garza said. “We’re definitely on pace to meet or exceed the 2020 turnout, which is our highest early voting participation.”
Hilda Salinas, Hidalgo County elections administrator, said the county is basing the expected early voting count on previous elections.
“We are shooting between [152,000] and 170,000 voters vote in person,” Salinas said about early voting turnout in this election.
For early voting, there are 24 polling sites for Cameron County and 33 polling sites for Hidalgo County.
The Cameron County early voting locations are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and the Hidalgo locations are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
For Election Day, there are 68 polling sites for Cameron County and 129 polling sites for Hidalgo County, open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Garza said students on the Brownsville campus should be prepared with a form of identification.
“We wanna encourage you to take advantage of the most convenient polling place for them, which is there on the campus, in the Gardenia room there at the Student Union,” he said.
Garza said during Election Day, students can visit other polling sites outside of the Brownsville campus, including:
–the Judicial Complex, located at 954 E. Harrison St. in Brownsville
–the Brownsville Public Library Main Branch, located at 2600 Central Blvd. in Brownsville
–the Brownsville Independent School District Administration building, located on 1900 E. Price Road in Brownsville
–Rancho Viejo City Hall, located at 3301 Carmen Ave. in Rancho Viejo
Students on the Edinburg campus may vote in the Student Academic Center.
Other locations include:
–the Edinburg Conference Center at Renaissance, located at 118 Paseo Del Prado
–the Elections Annex (rear), located at 317 N. Closner Blvd. in Edinburg
Environmental science graduate student Sai Deepak Pinakana said it is important to vote and the most important focus in voting is when local issues are involved.
“When the government cannot take the decision on their own, they need people’s support,” Pinakana said. “So, people need to vote to elect their representative so that they can take correct decisions for them.”
Biology junior Iliana De la Rosa said her main concern is gun violence among younger generations.
“I think there should be more gun control, especially in people under 25 because, I mean, the school shootings, they’re always people under 25,” De la Rosa said. “So, I think they shouldn’t have access to any guns.”
Salinas said voters should stay informed and ensure they have a form of identification.
“View and review your ballot before you head to the polls,” she said. “And get out and vote.”
