2024 Texas General Election Live Updates: Election Day is here!

Election day is finally here. On Tuesday, Texas voters in the general election will help select the next U.S. president, a U.S. senator and candidates for various federal, state and local offices.

Campaigning continued in Texas' extremely close U.S. Senate race as elections took place on Tuesday.

At least in a virtual sense. Incumbent Republican Sen. Ted Cruz's team released side-by-side photos of his Democratic challenger U.S. Rep. Colin Allred and former U.S. House Speaker (and still California congressman) Nancy Pelosi just before lunchtime, suggesting his opponent is in lockstep with Republican Senator Ted Cruz, the country's most prominent liberal, in San Francisco.

“Colin Allred’s 100 percent voting record with Nancy Pelosi shows he is too extreme for Texas,” said the message posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Around the same time, Allred, a three-term congressman from Dallas, reminded voters that country music legend Willie Nelson was in his corner. In addition to Nelson, Allred's segment also featured Cruz's 2018 opponent, former Democratic U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, and former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis, as well as several national figures who echoed the “All for Allred” message.

– John C. Moritz

On a sunny Election Day afternoon, Dalton Pastorius, a sophomore at the University of Texas majoring in government, said he had “never felt such hope before.” “I've never been more hopeful than I am today,” he said. Pastorius stood in front of the Texas Union wearing a 2008 T-shirt of former President Barack Obama on coins with the slogan “Real Change.” He handed out flyers with voting information and beamed with genuine excitement. Pastorius feels a personal connection to Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate. He had a poster of her on his wall during the 2019 primaries. “I’m just so excited to vote for her,” he said, encouraging people to vote and learn about candidates running for office.

–Lily Kepner

The Austin school district, facing a $119 million budget deficit, is proposing a higher tax rate to raise revenue to reduce the deficit and give teachers a raise.

Proposition A proposes to increase the school property tax rate from 85.95 cents per $100 of property valuation to 95.05 cents, which would raise $41 million for local schools and another $130 million under a decades-old program called “Recapture,” sent to the state, takes tax revenue from districts that receive more than their state-determined education funding needs and redistributes it to those that receive less revenue than their state-determined requirement established needs.

On a blustery Tuesday morning, Jose Brownlee, an Austin resident since 1996, stood in line with a group of other voters outside the Gus L. Garcia Recreation Center in Northeast Austin to cast his ballot.

Brownlee said he voted against the county's tax rate proposal because its taxes were already too high.

“We’re already struggling out here and everything is already difficult,” Brownlee said.

However, Roy Spinoza sees Proposition A as an economic boon for the city.

Spinoza, who has lived in Austin for 42 years, has three grandchildren in local schools. His desire to put former Republican President Donald Trump back in the White House drove him to the election on Tuesday.

While he doesn't mind paying more taxes, Spinoza believes people need to invest in their city, which includes schools, he said.

“I don’t want Austin to go under and be ruined just because no one wants to pay into it,” Spinoza said.

Likewise, Lynette Cox, who moved to Austin six months ago, chose the Austin School District tax rate election. Cox doesn't have children, but investing in public education is a matter of principle for her.

“You have to invest in the future of the United States,” Cox said.

Austin native Trey Pasquariello also voted for the district's proposal, he said.

“Raising money for schools is a good thing,” Pasquariello said.

He also sees the investment as a return on his home because if the schools are improved, the value of his home will likely increase, he said.

–Keri Heath

The line to vote Tuesday morning snaked around the Wilco Hutto Annex building, a polling place in Hutto, a rural town about 30 miles north of Austin, with the wait to cast a ballot lasting more than 45 minutes. This has been the case since the polls opened at 7 a.m

While Hutto residents are largely Republican, voters of all stripes cast their ballots on election day.

Aunchelle Weeks, 42, a Hutto business owner and mother, came to the polls with her daughter. She voted for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, a Democratic congressman from Dallas who is running to unseat incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.

“I just don’t feel like Trump has the best interests of the country at heart,” she said. “I think he’s alone in this.”

The three top topics of the week: economy, taxes and abortion rights. She believes Harris' economic plan is more sophisticated. In her opinion, Republican candidate Donald Trump's plan “was tried and didn't work.”

When asked what shapes her views on abortion, she said, “I became involved right after Roe v. Wade was pregnant and I've never been so afraid of something going wrong in my life.” And it really got me thinking about my girls' future. I don't want them to have that fear when the time comes – carrying a baby is a lot, it's stressful in itself and (especially) the worry that if something goes wrong you might not get the care that you need need.”

Texas has one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the country, with no exceptions for rape, incest or fatal fetal anomalies. She said she hopes Harris will win.

“I think she will come through in the end and hopefully get things back on track,” Weeks said.

Career firefighter Jason Oltman, 44, a father of adult children, supported Republicans across the board, although he said he voted for some Democrats in local elections.

Oltman voted for Trump because he said the former president was “not a politician.”

“He can pretty much tell the PACs to kiss his ass,” he said. “He doesn’t have to rely on them or he won’t listen,” he said, acknowledging that Trump still accepts donations from them.

The first reason Oltman gave for Cruz's re-election was that he was against gender reassignment procedures for children. He also said voters “can't just rely on what they hear on TV,” referring to the political commercials that have flooded the airwaves. “Everyone is throwing knives.”

At the same polling station — Wilco Hutto Annex — Hutto resident Al Artus voted for Trump, saying concerns about the former president's rhetoric were overblown.

“I completely understand his sense of humor,” he said of Trump. “They say, you know, 'Orange Man Bad.' They just don’t understand.”

His biggest concerns are immigration, inflation and the economy. Artus said he is deeply concerned about human trafficking at the border and believes Trump will take tough action against those responsible.

“We're standing on a bonanza of prosperity and wealth, but they say, 'No, let's just make everything more expensive and make it harder for people on fixed incomes,'” he said. “And why do we allow women to be abused this way, children this way (to be abused)?”

As for abortion, it's not a big problem for Arthur.

“I think if you have a problem with that, you just go to another state,” he said. “I don’t think we should have this one giant, powerful arm over everyone.”

— Bayliss Wagner

When do the polling stations open on election day?

If you vote on Election Day, polls in Texas will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time.

As long as you are in line by 7 p.m., you are allowed to vote, even if you do not have access to the polling station. You have the right to stay in line until you can cast your vote.

Where can I vote on Election Day 2024?

What do I need to bring to vote in Texas?

Voters should be prepared to present one of seven acceptable forms of photo ID:

Texas driver's license
Texas ID card
passport
Texas handgun license
Military ID
Certificate of citizenship
Texas voter ID card

A student ID, even from a public school or college, is not acceptable identification for voting under state law.

Any otherwise qualified voter who cannot obtain one of the approved photo IDs may complete a “Declaration of Reasonable Obstruction” at the polling location and present an alternative form of identification, such as a utility bill, bank statement, government check or voter registration certificate.

What will be on the ballot in the November 5th election?

Eligible Texans can vote not only for the next president, but also for other officials running at the local, state and federal levels.

Here's a look at what's on the ballot, according to the Texas Secretary of State's website:

1 U.S. Senator (the seat currently held by Ted Cruz)
1 of 3 Railway Commissioners
15 state senators
7 members of the State Board of Education
3 members of the Texas Supreme Court
3 members of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
5 Chief Justices and various judges of the Texas Courts of Appeals

Lower-ranking judges and local district offices will also appear on the ballot:

Tax advisor-collector
Various district judges, including in criminal and family courts
District Courts
Justice of the Peace
District Attorneys
District Attorneys
Sheriffs
Police officers

2024 Texas General Election Live Updates: Election Day is here!

When do the polling stations open on election day?

Where can I vote on Election Day 2024?

What do I need to bring to vote in Texas?

What will be on the ballot in the November 5th election?

Lower-ranking judges and local district offices will also appear on the ballot:

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