CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Voters lined the inside and outside of polling locations across Nueces County on Monday, Oct. 21 as early voting began.
However, voters faced some challenges at several of those locations, including at the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Center on McArdle Road on Corpus Christi's Southside.
“I got here at 10:30 and I am just leaving now. It’s almost 1 o’clock," voter Joann Raskin told KRIS 6 News reporter Alexis Scott after she submitted her vote.
Raskin claimed there were technical glitches that put a snag in her early morning arrival.
“We were told that the machines were stalled or they were broken. People were just standing there for over an hour," Raskin said. "They didn't tell us anything and some people just walked away because they couldn't wait that long."
By the afternoon, it seemed like all the issues at the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Center were fixed and voting went on as usual.
Other voters at different locations agreed about the moments of frustration, as struggles were seen at the Greenwood Senior Center and Ethel Eyerly Senior Center in Flour Bluff.
Some voters emphasized they were going to cast their ballot no matter the circumstance.
“I’m a travel nurse and am based in California," voter Nina Boies told Scott. "I was determined to be here and vote in Texas, where I was born and raise and am registered.”
With high profile races on the ballot in Nueces County, voters said this election is important to them and they didn’t want to wait until election day.
“I don't think I have ever come to vote on the first day of early voting," voter, Isabel Martin said. "I just told myself it had to be done on day one. Simply because this is a very, very important election.”
No matter what party affiliation, many voters seem to have the same idea when it comes to ‘why voting matters.’
“Because if we want to see a change, that’s why we’re doing it and that’s why we have the freedom to vote," voter Jessica Dunn said.
“A lot of people complain, but they never vote," voter Mike Boies said. "So, this is your choice to make.”
Early voting ends Nov. 1. For those who wnat to vote by mail, the last day is Friday, Oct. 25.
Election day is Nov. 5.
Click here for more election information and sample ballots.
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