Texas Judge Orders Polling Locations to Stay Open Later Due to Long Lines

The race in Texas is by far the most heated in the nation during these midterm elections thanks to the high profile clash between Republican incumbent Ted Cruz and Democratic challenger Robert “Beto” O’Rourke.

So heated is this race that the lines have been extraordinarily long, with some reporting having to wait in line for an inordinate amount of time to vote in their polling locations. This was is impressive, but not shocking, as Texas saw an 11 percent increase in voter registration, with over 15 million additional Texans voting this year.

According to The Hill, the lines are so long that one judge in Harris County, Texas, which includes the massive city of Houston, ordered polling locations around the county to stay open later in order for everyone to be able to have a chance to vote:

A judge in Harris County, Texas, ordered nine polling locations to stay open an extra hour to accommodate long lines.

The locations will have to stay open until 8 p.m. local time, according to the court order.

Aside from the additional voters having registered, one of the reasons Houston polling has those long lines is due to polling locations opening late or machines reportedly having problems according to Fox26:

Texas voters turned out at over 700 polling locations across the Houston-area Tuesday morning. Some polling issues have already been reported by voters after they attempted to vote this morning. Voters said they were frustrated at Piney Point Elementary after the polls opened an hour late, and some voters say they were not allowed to vote at this polling location.

There have also been issues reported at locations in Spring and La Porte. Voters were discouraged at the SW Houston, Precinct #284 location and South Plum Creek in Spring after they discovered voting machines were not working.

Cruz is expected to walk away with the victory as RCP polls show him ahead of O’Rourke with over six points.

The post Texas Judge Orders Polling Locations to Stay Open Later Due to Long Lines appeared first on RedState.