BEAUMONT, Texas — Polling locations across Jefferson County were packed Monday with Southeast Texas voters ahead of the November election.
Early voting for the 2022 Texas Midterm election has begun.
Polling locations in Jefferson County opened at 9 a.m., and it was a busy first day. Many Southeast Texans went to cast their votes and have their voices heard about issues that matter most to them.
"I'm very concerned about the amount of gun violence there is in the state of Texas,” Marguerite Jones, Jefferson County voter, said.
In addition to state-level and national-level issues, such as women's rights and gun violence, area concerns also brought voters out Monday.
"I just want to make sure that the water's clean because the water's been dirty,” Sindy Holmes, Jefferson County voter, said. “We've been having problems with the water.”
Before noon, more than 2,200 voters cast ballots across the 11 polling locations in Jefferson County, according to Aaron Kelley, elections manager for Jefferson County.
“We projected this one to have an overall turnout for early voting through the two weeks of about 53,000 voters,” Kelley said. "I think we're on par to probably meet or exceed that 53,000 number, which was 2018."
To vote, Kelley said Southeast Texans must bring their driver's license or another form of acceptable identification and their voter registration card to any polling location in the county.
"People need, most importantly, their driver's license is one of the seven forms of acceptable ID,” Kelley said. “If they don't have any of the IDs on the list, there are six other documents that they can bring that they can do a reasonable impediment, and then they'll be allowed to vote."
Southeast Texans reported it took about 10 minutes to cast their ballots.
"It's been brisk,” Kelley said. “We've had a great turnout at all 11 locations."
Whether a Southeast Texan decides to vote early or on election day, lifelong voters are just urging others to vote.
"Your vote does count," Jones said. “I don't think I've missed an election since you had to be 21. I'm so old. You had to be 21 to vote when I first started, and I've voted ever since."
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