Polls have opened for election day in Texas. Voting locations will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Outside the American Airlines Center in Dallas, the first two people lined up outside about 6 a.m., an hour before polls opened.
"I thought there'd be a line, so I'm trying to catch it early," one man said.
"I thought the lines might be a little longer, but I do realize a lot of people did early voting," the man behind him said. "I wouldn't have missed this. I couldn't do early voting; I was traveling."
According to the Texas Secretary of State, 9,692,621 people voted during the early voting period, up from a total of 8.97 million who voted in 2016. Because of population growth and an increase in the number of registered voters, however, turnout has not yet reached the level of 2016.
In 2016, turnout was 43.5% in early voting and 59.4% total. Through the end of early voting this year, turnout was 57.16%.
The chairs of the Dallas County Democratic and Republican Parties both signed a letter "in the spirit of bi-partisanship to encourage all of us -- the public, government officials, the media, political parties, and candidates -- to take a deep breath and stay patient and calm while election officials count all votes."
They say the process may take more time than usual because of record turnout and, the large number of vote-by-mail ballots and safety measures prompted by COVID-19.
"We give a special thanks to all voters turning out in these unprecedented circumstances. We also share our gratitude to all the dedicated people who make elections run: the poll workers, elections officials, poll watchers, postal workers and volunteers," they wrote.
