HOUSTON — Election Day 2020 is finally here after months of contentious campaigning, heated debates and voter anxiety.
Election results:
Election Day 2020 results can be viewed on the results page here. Nationally, the first polls close at 6 p.m. Central / 7 p.m. Eastern. Check back here and on the KHOU 11 mobile app as the first results come in, and make sure you turn on the alerts in our app. Also read how KHOU 11 will declare winners in the 2020 Election.
Election updates from Houston, Texas and around the United States:
Tue. 11:20 p.m. — The Associated Press has called two key races for the Houston area.
Democrat Lizzie Fletcher wins reelection to U.S. House in Texas' 7th Congressional District. Fletcher faced Republican challenger Wesley Hunt.
Republican Troy Nehls wins election to U.S. House in Texas' 22nd Congressional District. Nehls defeated Democratic candidate Sri Preston Kulkarni.
Tue. 10:50 p.m. — What a view. Here is a look at the 14 Election Day ballot drop-off drive-thru lines at the central counting station for Harris County. They can process up to 42 cars at a time.
Tue. 8:47 p.m. — According to the Associated Press, Democrat MJ Hegar has conceded in her bid to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas.
Hegar called Cornyn at 8:20 p.m. Tuesday to concede, Cornyn spokesman Travis Considine said. The Associated Press has not yet called the race.
Cornyn held an edge in polls and fundraising for most of the race but was still forced into mounting an unusually aggressive defense of his 18 years in the Senate.
Democrats poured millions of dollars behind Hegar, a former Air Force helicopter pilot who narrowly lost a U.S. House race two years ago. She accused Cornyn of delivering little for Texas over his long stint but didn’t generate the same enthusiasm of Democratic challengers in battleground Senate races elsewhere.
Hegar tweeted the following message: "I'm so proud and incredibly grateful for all of your support. Together, we've worked so hard, and overcome so much, shattering expectations along the way. We’ve built a powerful grassroots movement from the ground up, and I know our fight here in Texas is far from over."
Cornyn tweeted the following: "It is the honor of my life to serve Texas in the U.S. Senate. Inspired by your trust and your patriotism, I will continue to be a strong voice for our values in Washington. Thank you, Texas!"
Tue. 8:40 p.m. — Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo thanked the community on Election Day:
"On behalf of the men and women of @houstonpolice and our partners throughout @HoustonTX, thank you H-Town for being the great community you are. Today and early voting went extremely well. My heartfelt thanks goes out to our first responders and our community. #HoustonStrong "
Tue. 8:10 p.m. — Donald Trump wins North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Louisiana and Nebraska, while Joe Biden wins New York and New Mexico, according to the Associated Press.
Tue. 7:50 p.m. — U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw tweeted the following after he was declared the winner by the AP: "Thank you TX-2!!! It’s been an honor to represent you and an honor to continue representing you."
Tue. 7:23 p.m. — Republican Dan Crenshaw wins reelection to U.S. House in Texas' 2nd Congressional District, according to the AP.
Democrat Sheila Jackson Lee wins reelection to U.S. House in Texas' 18th Congressional District. The Associated Press called the race at 7:20 p.m.
Democrat Sylvia Garcia wins reelection to U.S. House in Texas' 29th Congressional District, according to the AP.
Democrat Al Green wins reelection to U.S. House in Texas' 9th Congressional District, according to the AP.
Tue. 7:15 p.m. — Donald Trump wins South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee and Oklahoma, while Joe Biden wins Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island, according to the Associated Press.
Tue. 7 p.m. — Voting centers in Harris County have begun closing up shop. Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins says we should have some of the returns soon.
Tue. 6:50 p.m. — Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins says that more than 200,000 votes were cast in-person on Election Day. He pleaded for those who have not voted to head to the closest polling place to them.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo says that the county had more than 65% voter turnout, the highest 1992.
Meantime in Fort Bend County, Judge KP George reports that more than 30,000 voters have cast their ballot.
Tue. 6 p.m. — If you haven't voted yet, what are you waiting for? You have to be in line by 7 p.m. to cast your ballot.
Tue. 5:20 p.m. — Election officials in a few states are warning voters to disregard "robocalls" urging them to stay home rather than go to the polls. It's unclear whether the calls were part of any partisan agenda. They have hit Republican-leaning states as well as Democratic ones.
One series of them appeared to have gone out around the country and didn't reference the election. Another appeared targeted specifically at voters in Flint, Michigan, a Democratic stronghold with a large African-American population.
The FBI is investigating calls that seek to discourage people from voting, a senior official at the Department of Homeland Security told reporters Tuesday.
Tue. 4:05 p.m. — Things got heated outside a polling place in Montrose Tuesday afternoon. Biden supporters outside the West Gray Multi-service Center got into a shouting match with a Trump supporter. It's not clear what led to the confrontation but abortion was mentioned and the Biden supporters were telling the man to stop cussing at them.
It just so happened, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez was campaigning at the polling place and he separated the groups.
With three hours left until polls close, there have been few reports of problems in Harris County.
Tue. 3:45 p.m. — Fort Bend County Judge KP George reports as of 3:25 p.m., more than 21,000 Fort Bend voters have cast ballots on Election Day bringing the total number for the county to more than 361,000.
The county judge added that the total ballots cast have already surpassed 2018’s 255,000 and 2016’s 262,000 totals.
Tue. 2:40 p.m. — Supporters cheered and applauded President Donald Trump at his campaign headquarters, where he visited Tuesday to thank dozens of staffers working to get him reelected. Trump predicted his victory, but acknowledged he could lose.
“I think we’re going to have a great night, but it’s politics and it’s elections and you never know,” Trump said.
He said his campaign was doing well in states like Florida, Arizona and Texas and noted the importance of winning Pennsylvania.
“Winning is easy. Losing is never easy,” he said. “Not for me it's not.”
Tue. 2:30 p.m. — A federal judge has ordered U.S. Postal Service inspectors to sweep more than two dozen mail processing facilities for lingering mail-in ballots and to sent them out immediately.
The order, which includes centers in central Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Detroit, Atlanta, south Florida and parts of Wisconsin, comes after national delivery delays leading up to the election and concerns the agency wouldn’t be able to deliver ballots on time.
The Postal Service’s ability to handle the surge of mail-in ballots became a concern after its new leader, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a major GOP donor, implemented a series of policy changes that delayed mail nationwide this summer.
Tue. 1:28 p.m. — Fort Bend County is the first in Texas to surpass 70% voter turnout, shattering all previous records.
Tue. 12:58 p.m. — The Harris County Clerk's Office said thus far, more than 100,000 Election Day votes have been cast. This brings Harris County's overall vote total to 1.5 million, according to Judge Lina Hidalgo.
Tue. 11:35 a.m. — While many are bracing for it to take several days or possibly weeks to officially determine who the next president will be, Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins says he will release the first tally at about 7 p.m. Tuesday night - as usual - with the rest of the voting results being added as they come in. “We will not have an election week here in Harris County, we will have an Election Night," he tells KHOU 11's Adam Bennett.
Tue. 11:25 a.m. — It doesn't get much more Texas than this - some voters in Acres Homes arrived by horse at the polls on Tuesday morning:
Tue. 11 a.m. — "At 11 a.m., more than 75,000 votes have been cast in Harris County so far on #ElectionDay. Confused about anything? Have questions? Call us at 713-755-6965. Find Voting Centers at http://HarrisVotes.com/Locations" — Harris County Clerk on Twitter
Tue. 10:54 a.m. — Mayor Turner and Harris County Clerk Christopher Hollins are greeting voters at the Acres Home Multi-Service Center. Watch here.
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Tue. 9:20 a.m. — The Harris County Clerk confirms, via Twitter, that about 47,000 votes have been cast so far on Election Day in the county alone. 21,000 of those votes were in the first hour.
Tue. 9:06 a.m. — Things were downright festive on Houston's East End Tuesday morning. Voters at Ripley House were treated to horchata, tacos, conchos and marialchis.
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Tue. 8:44 a.m. — The Alamo tweeted that temporary fencing is going up in Alamo Plaza as security precautions on Election Day. The City will add the temporary fencing around the perimeter of Alamo Plaza as a security precaution for the rest of the week. Read more here.
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Tue. 8:40 a.m. — Fort Bend County confirms that a few of its polling sites this morning are again experiencing issues - possibly technical. One of the impacted locations is the Mission Bend Library, although voters on Twitter have also said locations in Sugar Land are impacted. The county says they are troubleshooting the issues, which they say are not as widespread as the delays and issues reported on the first day of Early Voting last month.
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Tue. 8:40 a.m. — We're still in a pandemic, so the Houston Office of Emergency Management has these health-minded tips for voters today: "Avoid direct contact; Wash or sanitize your hands; Wear a mask" .. They also remind voters you can check wait times at various polls to try and avoid crowds.
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Tue. 7:23 a.m. — (AP) Trump campaign claims to have enlisted 50,000 poll watchers | President Donald Trump’s campaign is poised to deploy an “army” of volunteers and paid staff on Tuesday to watch elections precincts in Democratic-leaning areas. Read more here.
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Tue. 7:05 a.m. — The blast of a horn and a prayer. Here's how some voters and supporters got Election Day started at the polling location on West Gray in Houston. Recorded by KHOU 11's Xavier Walton:
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Tue. 7 a.m. — (CBS News) Former Vice President Joe Biden visited his son Beau Biden's grave Tuesday morning (11/3/20) at the St. Joseph on the Brandywine Church where he worships in Greenville, Delaware. Biden will travel to Pennsylvania today before returning to Wilmington, Delaware tonight to watch election results.
Tue. 7 a.m. — Polls opened across Texas Tuesday morning as election officials warned millions of absentee ballots could slow the tallies across the country, perhaps for days.
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Tue. 6:54 a.m. — Races to watch in Texas: We're finally to Election Day 2020. It's been a long campaign and now the voters get their say in several key races. President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden are going head-to-head in the race for the White House. Senator John Cornyn is taking on Democratic MJ Hegar in the Senate race There are several key U.S. House races and the Texas House races could define the state for the next decade. Read more here.
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Tue. 6:16 a.m. — Reminder: Toyota Center will be the only drive-thru voting location on Election Day in Harris County | There's a major change in drive-thru voting on Election Day in Harris County. There were originally going to be ten locations, but late Monday night, Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins announced there would only be one -- Toyota Center. Read more here.
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Tue. 6 a.m. — In case you missed it, it's currently a 'Texas toss-up' as a new poll shows Lone Star State is all tied up | President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden are neck and neck in Texas at 48.1%, according to a poll released Thursday. The last poll for Texas released just before Election Day by Morning Consult shows the race is a tie between Trump and Biden. Read more here.
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Tue. 3:42 a.m. — (AP) Election Day is here with massive voter turnout expected | The scourge of a global pandemic produced an election season like no other in the U.S., persuading record numbers of Americans to cast their ballots early, forcing states to make changes to long-established election procedures and leading to hundreds of lawsuits over how votes will be cast and which ballots will be counted. Polls began opening Tuesday as election officials warned that millions of absentee ballots could slow the tallies, perhaps for days, in some key battleground states and as President Donald Trump threatened legal action to prevent ballots from being counted after Election Day. Read more here.