Election Day vote count expected to be far below early voter numbers in Travis County

Travis County Election Day operations

Fifty-one percent of registered voters in Travis County voted early. Election officials now are preparing for those who will show up on Election Day

TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas - No votes were cast at an East Austin polling location on Monday, Nov. 4, but a lot was done during early voting.

In Travis County, 480,364 people took part in early voting. That includes mail-in ballots and represents 51% of those who are registered. The number is on par with past presidential elections.

On Monday, during a media briefing, Travis County Clerk Dyana Limon-Mercado indicated a big rush isn’t expected on Election Day from the 49% who have not yet voted.

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"We're expecting to process 100,000 to 200,000 voters on Election Day. There will be 176 Election Day poll places and eligible voters can vote at any location in the county. Voters should expect to wait in line. Anybody in line by 7 p.m. will be able to have their vote cast on Election Day," said Limon-Mercado.

The possibility of an Election Day ballot box grind worries some voters.

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"Just the wait time. I mean, because I'm pretty busy with the baby and stuff," said an Austin mom who spoke to FOX 7.

At high traffic voting locations, extra staff have been added. Poll workers have also gone through training on how to de-escalate situations when on-site voting rules are broken.

"We haven't had any altercations between election workers and voters," said Limon-Mercado.

There was an early voting incident in San Antonio. Jesse Lutzenberger was booked into the Bexar County jail on October 24 after he allegedly punched a poll worker. It involved his MAGA hat and bringing it into the voting area.

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Wearing campaign merchandise during a political rally is OK, but within 100 feet of a polling place, that is considered electioneering, and Texas is one of almost two dozen states with a law about that.

"No attire. So, shirts, hats, jackets. Nothing that has buttons. Nothing that has any political candidates, candidate's slogans, candidate anthems, propositions or political parties," said Limon-Mercado.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced he will have, what he calls, a Rapid Response Legal Team ready to deploy when needed tomorrow.

You can get a "legal" free ride to a polling location from CapMetro. The transit agency is waiving fares for those heading out to vote Tuesday. That includes using Map-Metro's bikeshare service, but it has to be done through their app.