Election Day Nears: Early voting ends Friday
You’ve probably seen the political signs everywhere. You’ve probably gotten the myriad of text messages from candidates encouraging to vote. You’ve probably procrastinated in a timely fashion to cast your ballot.
For those looking to vote in the upcoming Nov. 3 General Election, there are some important things to remember.
Luckily, The Advance has got you covered.
For starters, there are two important dates to remember going forward this week and some change.
The first is Oct. 30, which is this upcoming Friday. That is the last day for early voters to cast their ballots ahead of Election Day. In times past, if you want to avoid the last-minute rush and crowds, casting your ballot by this Friday is the way to go.
The second important date is Nov. 3, which is on Tuesday. That’s when Election Day arrives and if you don’t cast your ballot in-person, then there’s no going back.
According to the Hidalgo County Elections Department, the unofficial results for the first day of early voting showed 20,530 total residents cast their ballots — 17,400 in-person, while 3,130 by mail. As of press time, that number has increased five fold as total votes is measured as 101,225. There were 97,250 votes conducted in person, while 3,975 were by mail.
What do I need to bring?
If you are looking to cast your ballot — whether during Early Voting or on Election Day — you must bring a form of Photo ID.
Here are the seven forms of Photo ID that you can bring, according to voteTexas.gov:
• Texas Driver License issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS)
• Texas Election Identification Certificate issued by DPS
• Texas Personal Identification Card issued by DPS
• Texas Handgun License issued by DPS
• United States Military Identification Card containing the person’s photograph
• United States Citizenship Certificate containing the person’s photograph
• United States Passport (book or card) If you’re voting by mail, you must provide a form of voter identification such as a Texas Driver License, Texas Personal ID Card, etc. For more information on that, you can call the Hidalgo County Elections Department at (956) 318-2570.
How do I know what my ballot will look like?
Remember this: An informed voter is equally and as critically important as casting your ballot.
Over the years, The Advance has received notice from local residents — who have voted — that a certain race or proposition is missing from their ballot. It’s important to note that not all ballots will look the same, it depends on your residence on what you will be voting on.
To remedy this, there’s a cool, neat tool on the Hidalgo County Elections Department that shows what you can expect when you go to vote.
All you got to do is visit the Hidalgo County Elections Department website, which is https://www.hidalgocounty.us/105/Elections-Department. You can even type “Hidalgo County Elections Department” on a search browser, such as Google, and it should be the first website on the list.
From there, click the banner that reads “November 3, 2026 General Election” on the home page.
Then, scroll down as you will see a category that reads, “Sample Ballot Information.” You can then use the “Sample Ballot Lookup Tool” to see how your ballot will look like when you visit the polls. You can use a desktop or smartphone to access this site.
Once you click on it, you will have to provide your name and date of birth to get a sample of your ballot.
Where to vote?
There will be approximately 69 locations for voters to cast their ballots (as seen above).
And yes, any eligible voters can cast their ballot at any polling location.
We at The Advance will have the locations available on our website as well, but you can see them on the Hidalgo County Elections Department website, as well as their Facebook page.