Voters line up outside Richardson City Hall for early voting in Richardson, Texas. Photo / AP
Voters line up outside Richardson City Hall for early voting in Richardson, Texas. Photo / AP
Early voting began today with long lines in Texas, one of the few places in the United States not allowing widespread mail balloting during the pandemic.
Jill Biden rallied supporters across the red state that Democrats are no longer writing off.
Texas is one of just five states that did not dramatically expand mail-in voting this year because of Covid-19.
And hours before polls opened, Republican Governor Greg Abbott's order limiting counties to one mail ballot drop-off box was upheld by a federal appeals court, stopping dozens of shut sites around Texas from reopening.
Both the virus and Texas' high stakes in November were front-of-mind in Jill Biden's first stop, the border city of El Paso, where Abbott has deployed more nurses and medical equipment as cases and hospitalisations climb.
Campaigning for her husband, former Vice-President Joe Biden, she was due to end her 1300km swing across Texas in Houston, with a stop in Dallas in between.
Voters line up to cast their ballots for early voting in the November presidential election, in downtown Tyler, Texas.
Regina Cuchapin, a registered Democrat and Houston resident, said she still didn't feel safe eating in restaurants because of the coronavirus but that she was willing be among crowds to exercise her right to vote.
"I think that now that people know how serious it is and what precautions to take, I think those who are ready to come out are taking those precautions," said Cuchapin, a healthcare worker.
Houston election officials reported more than 100,000 votes had been cast in Harris County, a record turnout for a single day of early voting, which continues through October 30.
Long lines were common at polling sites across Texas, as were masks, although voters are not required to wear them inside polling places.
In suburban Houston's Fort Bend County, technical problems kept machines offline for more than an hour as hundreds of people waited to vote. The county's top elected official said he would authorise an investigation.
"Those who are responsible will be held accountable," said Fort Bend County Judge KP George.
Much is on the line in America's largest red state, which has competitive congressional and state legislative races and is a potential presidential battleground.
And local election authorities have been pulling out all the stops to ensure the state's 16 million registered voters can safely cast their ballots in person.
In Harris County — which includes Houston and is home to more than 2.4 million voters — there will be triple the number of polling places compared to previous elections.
Voters will be able to choose between standing in socially distant lines to vote in person at a polling place, or a drive-thru option that resembles pulling up to order at a fast-food restaurant.
Some polling places will stay open later than usual on select nights, and on Oct. 29, seven locations will be open for 24 hours.
To staff the more than 100 voting locations, Harris County officials have doubled the number of paid election workers to 11,000.
Bilingual poll workers will be available at each location, and high school students will be on hand as technology aides.
Other large counties are taking similar measures.
Travis County, which includes the state capital of Austin, will also offer extended hours at select locations during early voting.
Dallas County positioned clear barriers between election workers and voters, and poll workers sanitised any surfaces that were touched and provided finger coverings or a popsicle stick to be used as a stylus on voting machines.
El Paso County has an app to inform voters about voting locations and wait times.
A federal appeals court has ruled that Texas can continue to limit the number of ballot drop-off locations to just one per county.
Harris County — the third most populous county in the country — had to shut 11 of its 12 ballot drop-off sites to comply. https://t.co/ZjBxccl8Hf
Harris County, which is run by Democrats, tried to send applications for mail ballots to all of its registered voters, but Abbott sued and the Texas Supreme Court sided with the governor.
Upping the ante is the chance to flip the Republican-controlled Texas State House of Representatives.
Democrats are just nine seats away from seizing control for the first time in two decades.
Several longtime Republican stronghold districts in the Houston area are in play after close calls in 2018.
