BEAUMONT, Texas — There are only 17 days to go until Election Day and there's a true battleground blitz from the presidential candidates.
In Southeast Texas, poll workers and elections administrators are working over time to make sure things go smoothly on November 5. We're only two days away from the start of early voting in Texas.
12News spoke to the Jefferson County Clerk Roxanne Hellberg-Acosta about what you need to know before you head to the polls.
Acosta-Hellberg is urging voters not to wait until Election Day to cast their ballot. She says her office and volunteers are preparing for a large turnout.
"Lines. Because you know whoever is a procrastinator or whatever circumstance they're faced with showing up to vote you know and people get frustrated," she said.
11 voting locations will be available across Jefferson County. During the the first week, they'll be open from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. The second week they will be open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.
"We do want to make sure that people are comfortable with this process," said Acosta-Hellberg.
She says plans are in place to ensure an inclusive voting experience.
"We're here to service every single one of our communities. Every machine is ADA compliant and we have actually taken some of our equipment to different organizations so that they can just be comfortable and be ready," Acosta-Hellberg said.
Organizations like The Arc of Greater Beaumont have clients who are benefitting from the process.
"They got to actually go through and pick our fake candidates here, but they learned the importance of voting. They learned how to better navigate their way through the menu on the voting machine," said Sarah Hardin, the executive director of The Arc.
Hardin specializes in building up confidence in people with disabilities.
"I live at home. I need access to this because of this. And so that confidence has been the coolest thing that I get to see," Hardin said.
That's confidence that she says transfers into other facets of her clients' lives.
"They give me hope that one day she's gonna be involved and be able to speak up for herself and be able to advocate better," said Hardin.
Acosta-Hellberg says fairness for all voters is a top priority at the polls this election cycle.
"Come and celebrate. Enjoy your liberty and participate in this process. It's important," she said.
Election administrators say don't forget to bring your ID to the polls. Upgrades have been made to identification scanners in Jefferson County for efficiency.