Voters have been lining up since early Tuesday morning to cast their ballot in Hidalgo County at the start of Election Day.

According to the Hidalgo County Elections Department, there are 109 polling locations across the county, and registered voters can cast their ballot at any of those locations.

Nearly 165 thousand people cast their ballot during Early Voting in this election cycle. That number is down from the 188 thousand early voters seen during the 2020 Presidential Election. The Early Voting period during the 2020 Presidential Election was extended from 12 days to 18 days due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hidalgo County election officials say they are expecting a high turnout on Election Day, especially at popular polling sites such as the Lark Community Center in McAllen and the elections annex in Edinburg.

Both of those sites saw high early voting numbers.

Election officials are encouraging everyone in line to be patient, bring an I.D., and to keep some rules in mind.

“If you're wearing a shirt that's promoting a candidate that's on the ballot, or a cap that promoting a candidate that's on the ballot, or a measure or a specific party of who or what is on the ballot, you will be asked to either turn it inside out, remove it, put something over it, maybe a hoodie or a jacket to cover it up,” Hidalgo County Elections Administrator Hilda Salinas said.

Polls in Hidalgo County close at 7 p.m. A list of election sites is available here. 

People in line before 7 p.m. will still be allowed to cast their ballots when polls close. 

A list of election resources is available here. 

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