With Election Day Nov. 3, students at Texas A&M University-San Antonio have had many questions about voting.
The Office of First-Year Experience hosted an election Q&A for students on Instagram Live Oct. 28. Students asked questions of Angelica Razo, Texas state director of Mi Familia Vota, a non-profit organization that helps with building Latino political engagement year-round.
Questions included:
Can I vote anywhere?
Yes, Bexar County voters can now vote at any polling place in the county, which is part of the Countywide Polling Place Program in Texas,
However, Razo said some polling places that voters used prior to the pandemic have changed to accommodate social distancing due to COVID-19.
There are 302 voting locations, according to the Bexar County Election Department’s Facebook page. They include the polling place at A&M San Antonio, outside the Mays Center for Experiential Learning on the first floor of the Science and Technology Building.
Voters can check their specific precinct’s polling location here:
https://www.bexar.org/2229/Voter-Registration-Check-Polling-Locatio#resultsJump
They can view a list of all Bexar County polling places here: https://www.bexar.org/3184/Election-Day-Vote-Information
Voting is 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Nov. 3.
Is it too late to register to vote?
Yes. Razo said voters who registered after Oct. 5 are excluded from the Nov. 3 election because in the state of Texas voters must be registered 30 days prior to Election Day.
Razo recommends that students know who they are voting for.
“It’s so important to take the time to research those candidates,” Razo said.
Razo said the state of Texas is not following the straight ticket voting this year, which means voters cannot pick a party’s entire slate of candidates with one ballot mark.
When voters enter the voting booth, they are not allowed to use their phone to access information about candidates, Razo said that it might be best to take a piece of paper with notes of each candidate who you want to vote for.
What happens after Election Day?
Voters wait in anticipation for the results to be in, but depending on how many ballots were cast from the previous day, it may take a while to actually get the results from voting on Election Day.
For more information, visit:
- mifamiliavota.org
- Vote411.org
- MoveTexas.org
- National Election Protection hotline (866-ourvote)
This story was updated at 8:40 p.m. Nov. 2 to correct a link to the Bexar County Elections Department’s webpage for checking voter registration and polling locations.
