Harris County beat entire state of Georgia on first day of early voting, Hidalgo says

HOUSTON – Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo along with social media star “Curbside Larry” urged residents Wednesday to continue to vote early and take advantage of a wide variety of voting options.

Hidalgo said Harris County alone beat the entire state of Georgia during the first day of early voting. She said more than 128,000 votes were recorded Tuesday, shattering the records for 2016 and the most early voting the county has ever seen on a single day. She said more than 50,000 early voters had been recorded by noon.

Hidalgo also commended Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins for his efforts in making access to voting easier for all residents in the county.

“The goal is to make it easy for voters -- extended hours and triple the number of voting centers,” Hollins said.

Hollins thanked the commissioners for providing resources to voting locations. Hollins said 11,000 early voters have used the drive-thru option to cast their votes.

He said the lawsuit filed by the Republican party to halt drive-thru voting options was dismissed by a judge. Hidalgo called the lawsuit confusing and its goal was to only confuse residents during early voting.