SAN ANTONIO – As Election Day approaches its final hours, Bexar County polling locations are seeing a drop in the average number of voters per hour.
Bexar County Elections Administrator Jacque Callanen said in a news conference at 5 p.m. that polling locations are averaging about 6,600 an hour, which is a drop from the 7,500 voters an hour reported Tuesday morning.
A total of 66,761 people have voted in-person on Election Day, Callanen said.
it is unlikely that Bexar County will reach the expected 175,000 vote mark that the department had expected, she said.
The busiest sites on Election Day include the Great Northwest Library, the Julia Yates Semmes Library, the Encino Library, the McCreless Library and the Brook Hollow Library.
The department has seen 75,000 mail-in ballots so far — a “dramatic increase” from past elections, she said earlier Tuesday. Ballots are expected to be counted throughout Wednesday.
More than 681,000 Bexar County residents — 57% of eligible voters — voted early in the 2020 election, breaking records and shattering the raw vote number from 2016.
Callanen said on Tuesday morning, technology issues revolved around a new system with new printers, as some laptops are older and don’t have enough ports. She said some judges were not familiar with the hubs, but technicians are out in the field and will circle at polling places throughout the day.
One polling place that had that problem is the Copernicus Community Center at 5003 Lord Road.
Callanen asked voters to be respectful and wear a mask, although they are not required to vote. She added that one person wearing a political mask, shirt and hat was not allowed to vote until he removed the items.
In that case, a Bexar County Sheriff’s Office deputy was dispatched. Callanen did not say the location of the polling place.
“We will get through this if everyone stays respectful," she said. “We have a long way to go but it is going well."
Polls at more than 300 voting locations in Bexar County will stay open until 7 p.m. on Tuesday. A reminder that voters can cast a ballot at any polling place this year, unlike previous presidential election cycles.
Have you encountered any problems at the polls? Let KSAT know in this story.
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