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With three more full days of voting left this election, Travis County has surpassed its November 2016 turnout.
As of midday on Wednesday, 486,206 votes had been cast during the early voting period and by mail compared to a total of 477,588 votes in the last presidential election.
"We can't emphasize enough how proud we are of Travis County voters for coming out in huge numbers during this early voting period," the Travis County Clerk's office tweeted.
The moment you’ve been waiting for...Travis County has surpassed its Nov ‘16 total vote turnout! 486,206 votes ha… https://t.co/XrDtYfQDE4— Travis County Clerk (@Travis County Clerk) 1603904984.0
During the last presidential election, nearly 80% of Travis County voters cast their ballots early. Of the 477,588 total votes, only 103,536 were cast on Election Day.
This trend is not limited to Travis County. Nearby Hays and Williamson counties surpassed their 2016 numbers earlier this week, and turnout is up statewide—and across the country—despite the ongoing pandemic.
As of Tuesday, more than 8.1 million people—or around 48% of registered voters—had cast their ballots early in Texas. This surpasses turnout during the first two weeks of early voting in both 2016, when nearly 44% of registered voters had cast their ballots, and 2012, when less than 37% had, according to the Texas Tribune.
Gov. Greg Abbott announced over the summer that the early voting period would be extended by six days due to the pandemic.
Texas is 819,931 votes away from surpassing the statewide turnout in the 2016 general election. It has already exceeded the 2012 turnout by 155,445 votes, according to the Texas Secretary of State's office.
The early voting period ends on Friday, Oct. 30. Registered voters will be able to cast their ballots so long as they are in line by 7 p.m. A list of early voting polling locations can be found here.
The following six polling locations will be open until 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday:
- Ben Hur Shrine Centerr
- Millennium Youth Complex
- PfISD Rock Gym
- South Park Meadows, Suite 400
- South Park Meadows, Suite 500
- Austin Central Library
Residents can find wait time estimates for each location here, whether they are registered to vote here, voter identification requirements in Texas here, their personal ballot here and some races to watch here.
Many local businesses are also encouraging voting by offering specials—from a free slice of pizza to a discounted pint—to those who bring in their "I voted" or "Yo voté" sticker.
This story has been updated to clarify the total number of votes cast in the 2016 presidential election.
More on voting:
- Travis County sees surge in mail-in voting applications - austonia ›
- Travis Co. election workers quit due to COVID fears - austonia ›
- Travis County's early voting polling places ranked by turnout - austonia ›
- 43% of registered voters have cast their ballots in Travis County ... ›
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Popular
(Jordan Vonderhaar/The Texas Tribune)
The Texas Senate Democratic Caucus is urging Gov. Greg Abbott to call an emergency special legislative session to consider a variety of gun restrictions and safety measures in the wake of a mass school shooting in Uvalde that left 19 children and two adults dead this week.
In a letter released Saturday morning, all 13 Senate Democrats demanded lawmakers pass legislation that raises the minimum age to purchase a firearm from 18 to 21 years old. The Uvalde gunman was 18 and had purchased two AR-style rifles which he used in the attack.
The caucus is also calling for universal background checks for all firearm sales, “red flag” laws that allow a judge to temporarily remove firearms from people who are considered an imminent threat to themselves or others, a “cooling off period” for the purchase of a firearm and regulations on high capacity magazines for citizens.
“Texas has suffered more mass shootings over the past decade than any other state. In Sutherland Springs, 26 people died. At Santa Fe High School outside Houston, 10 people died. In El Paso, 23 people died at a Walmart. Seven people died in Midland-Odessa,” the letter reads. “After each of these mass killings, you have held press conferences and roundtables promising things would change. After the slaughter of 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, those broken promises have never rung more hollow. The time to take real action is now.”
Such laws are unlikely to gain traction in the Republican-controlled Legislature, which has a track record of favoring legislation that loosens gun restrictions. Only the governor has the power to call lawmakers back into a special session for emergency work.
Asked about a special session at a Friday press conference in Uvalde, Abbott said “all options are on the table” adding that he believed laws would ultimately be passed to address this week’s horrors. However, he suggested laws would be more tailored toward addressing mental health, rather than gun control.
“You can expect robust discussion and my hope is laws are passed, that I will sign, addressing health care in this state,” he said, “That status quo is unacceptable. This crime is unacceptable. We’re not going to be here and do nothing about it.”
He resisted the idea of increasing the age to purchase a firearm, saying that since Texas became a state, 18-year-olds have been able to buy a gun.
He also dismissed universal background checks saying existing background check policies did not prevent the Santa Fe and Sutherland Springs shootings, which both happened while he has been in office.
“If everyone wants to seize upon a particular strategy and say that’s the golden strategy right there, look at what happened in the Santa Fe shooting,” he said. “A background check had no relevance because the shooter took the gun from his parents…Anyone who suggests we should focus on background checks as opposed to mental health, I suggest is mistaken.”
Since the massacre at Robb Elementary School, the governor’s comments about potential solutions have centered around increasing mental health services, rather than restricting access to firearms.
This story has been edited for length.
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(Project Connect)
Designs for stations along Project Connect’s Blue Line were presented this week, giving a detailed look at what part of the rail system extending from downtown to the airport could look like.
The planned stations that have gotten the latest focus include Waterfront, Travis Heights and Lakeshore stations past Lady Bird Lake.
At the Waterfront station, the preliminary design aims to prevent visual obstructions and save on costs. This is accomplished by a transit guideway that will lower from the bridge to a level station.
Heading onto East Riverside Drive, the light rail faces a curve requiring a slow down to about 10 miles per hour.
The Travis Heights station could involve relocating a pedestrian crosswalk zone at Alameda Drive to Blunn Creek. Since light rails can't effectively operate on a steep grade, this allows the transit guideway to avoid that.
From there, the rail will extend to the Norwood Park area, and though it will reach along the right-of-way zone, the park will be able to remain open.
A view of the Blue Line by Lady Bird Lake. (Project Connect)
The line involves some coordination with the Texas Department of Transportation. That's because the department is working on an intersection that will have to be built before the phasing of the section of the Blue Line involving an I-35 crossing.
When it comes to the safety of cyclists and walkers, design ideas include a pedestrian hybrid beacon by East Bouldin Creek that would provide a protected signal to cross. And for the intersection TxDOT is carrying out, Project Connect is working with them on pedestrian access across the intersection. It could involve shared use paths along the street and crossings beneath it.
This summer, the public can expect 30% of design and cost estimates to be released. Though the project was $7.1 billion when voters approved it in November 2020, the latest estimates factoring in inflation and supply chain constraints show it could ultimately be upwards of $10 billion.
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