Early voting began Tuesday, Oct. 13 in the state of Texas and will end on Friday, Oct. 30. Early voting gives citizens a chance to vote before election day, which is Nov. 3, 2020.

Shannon Lackey, Randall County elections administrator, reported record breaking numbers of citizens participating in early voting on the first day in Randall County

“In Randall County we have over 93,000 registered voters, which is an all-time high, and 3,270 people vote on the first day of early voting,” Lackey said.

This year’s election could very well be one of the most diverse this nation has ever seen. A common misconception is that not everyone’s vote counts, which is not true.

“One vote equals one voice, that goes for state and local government. Anyone that votes has a part of the say. By coming out and casting your ballot, you’re telling the world your choice,” Lackey said.

Early voting allows citizens a larger time slot to cast their votes. It reduces lines on Election Day and even takes some pressure off of voting in general.

“The early voting option gives you more access to maximize your impact,” said Marcus Rogers, junior agricultural media and communications major. Rogers was also eligible to register citizens to vote in Randall and Potter County. “Early voting is a way for my voice to be heard that matches my schedule.”

Considering Randall County houses many college students, early voting is a fantastic resource to utilize for them. Schedules are very busy and not always friendly to those who want their voices to be heard. Kyle McGavok, senior sports and exercise science major, expressed his appreciation of the availability that early voting gives students.

“As a student, I believe that early voting gives students more time to find availability to go vote since students may come from all over the country and not be able to right away. You can also find that a good amount of students may not have as much free time on their hands due to working and school work, so with having more time with the early voting, I believe that this helps us students find the time we need to have our voice heard on who we want to vote for,” McGavok said.

Another positive to early voting is mail-in ballots. Mail-in ballots are a way for people to vote even if they are not currently in their hometown or home county. The ballot is mailed to the address that the individual is currently situated. The earlier a person applies for a mail-in ballot, the better. Post offices have been working very hard to keep up with mail-in ballots.

“This election we are going to have a large majority via mail-in voting,” Rogers said.

For more information on early voting and this year’s general elections in Randall County, visit RandallVote.com.