This story has been updated.
When the polls closed at 7 p.m. Tuesday, just over 146,000 Bexar County residents had cast a ballot in the general election.
Bexar County Elections Administrator Jacque Callanen called it “a beautiful, successful day” of voting.
That number would rise slightly, as those in line by 7 p.m. would still be able to cast a ballot. At least 100 people were in line at the Bexar County Elections Office on South Frio Street.
The early vote and mail in ballot totals are up on the elections website, showing that 536,639 people voted early, while another 32,366 absentee ballots have been counted.
That’s out of 1,295,920 total registered voters in the county.
“It was a long ballot,” Callanen said, and so it would take a while to compile from all 302 voting sites.
Election Day results were still coming in early Wednesday, with 243 of 302 vote centers reporting. Results will be released by the Bexar County Elections Department and can be seen on San Antonio Report’s Voter Guide as they come in.
Trump vs. Harris
At watch parties around San Antonio, Republicans and Democrats watched results come in for the U.S. presidential race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.
Democrats who gathered at the Cowboys Dancehall were shivering for most of the night. The dance hall’s temperature is typically set to keep the thronging dancefloor cool.
While there were short bursts of dancing on Tuesday night, many in the crowd were glued to their phones or various TVs displaying dismal preliminary results for state and national Democratic seats — including Vice President Kamala Harris’ bid for president.
While Bexar County Dems celebrated the wins they were expecting — Rep. Josey Garcia handily won reelection in District 124 and Javier Salazar won a third term as Bexar County Sheriff — the mood was tempered by the air conditioning and flashes of red creeping across state and national maps.
The dance hall was mostly empty by 11 p.m.
Meanwhile, the Angry Elephant, a popular North Side conservative bar, was filled with cheers Tuesday evening as televisions throughout broadcasting Fox News declared many key victories for Republicans.
Cheers along with chants of “U-S-A” from loyal Trump voters filled the bar and outdoor patio.
Lifted trucks with Trump flags and decals circled the parking lot blowing airhorns designed for trains to much enthusiasm from onlookers.
While a winner in the presidential race hasn’t been declared, enthusiasm for what was yet to come at the GOP watch party was palpable.
Not a record turnout, but Election Day was busy
As of 11 a.m. Tuesday morning, 46,923 voters had cast their ballots since 7 a.m. when the polls opened. Bexar County officials had initially projected at least 275,000 would cast their vote on Election Day, but by 3 p.m. only 92,607 had voted.
That’s an average of about 12,000 voters an hour, said Bexar County Elections Administrator Jacque Callanen, meaning turnout is on track to reach her estimate of 150,000 to 160,000 voters today.
Brook Hollow Library, always one of the busiest polling sites in Bexar County, had processed more than 1,000 voters by 5 p.m. on Election Day, while Morrill Elementary School on the city’s South Side had seen just 87.
All told, 116,849 voters had cast ballots with just two hours left until the polls closed. Callanen emphasized that those who are in line by 7 p.m. will be allowed to vote — but don’t expect to get in line at 7:01, she said.
Last night’s storm knocked out power to a couple of sites, including Neff Middle School. Poll workers had to move to another part of the building this morning that had power, which delayed their start time, Callanen said.
Local election officials encouraged voters to be patient and be prepared, noting that some locations have few lines, while others are much busier.
They can vote until 7 p.m. at any one of these 300-plus polling centers in the county.
Callanen said the office is tracking social media posts and is aware of a self-proclaimed “citizen-journalist” who said he will be visiting the elections office late tonight to make sure there isn’t “any funny business” since he said “that’s how the left stole the last election.”
“We have great security,” Callanen said.
She said she plans to release early vote totals soon after the polls close at 7 p.m., but she believed the office would still be counting Election Day votes as late as midnight. Here’s more of what to expect as you’re waiting and waiting for results.
Voters who received a mail ballot but would rather vote in person today should bring their mail ballots with them to the polls, she said.
The San Antonio Report team will be roaming the county throughout the day to capture our community’s stories in this pivotal election.
Frank Garrett Multi-Service Center
Bexar County Election Judge Daniel Gonzalez says the West Side voting site, which has nine voting booths, has had no lines all day.
Chas Garcia, 23, cast her vote just after noon on Election Day with the economy on her mind. She couldn’t go earlier because of lack of child care — she is five months pregnant and has an 8-month-old daughter.
“Having two kids now and being as young as we are, me and my husband are working very hard to supply for our daughters,” she said. “We have pretty good jobs, I feel like, but we’re still working extra to make ends meet.”
Garcia, a nursing assistant, said her husband, a 23-year-old service adviser, said she was worried about reproductive rights in case anything went wrong during labor.
“I have complications during this pregnancy. Yes, I fear for that, but I feel like it would be resolved, hopefully, later on down the line. I don’t think the media is playing it out the way it should be,” she said.
“It’s really conflicting this time around because … we’re trying to bring back the economy but as well as keep our rights, too.”
Encino Branch Library
The economy was also on the mind of Rene Menchaca, who noted that the one-hour wait at the far North Side polling site had felt relatively quick.
Menchaca, 32, said as he gets older, he’s seeing how much of a struggle it is for Americans to afford groceries and housing.
A poll worker stationed on the side of the building steadily checked that voters had their IDs ready as they enter the library. A short line wound back and forth in the courtyard, where several children were playing tag.
“That can be a real barrier for some women to voting, if they’re home alone with the children,” said Ashley Pringle, 37, who had already voted early but came along with a. friend to watch their children while her friend cast her ballot.
Pringle says she’s not sure if her own vote will make much of a difference, but she wants her voice to be heard. A former educator, she added she had voted to show support for more funding for public education in Texas.
Northwest Vista College
Around 2:30 p.m. more than 75 people waited in line inside the Mountain Laurel Hall Academic Center at Northwest Vista College.
Inside, all 14 voting booths were full.
Outside, a group of Trump supporters showed their support for the Republican presidential candidate.
Veterans for Harris also set up shop at the 100-foot marker, guiding campus visitors where they need to go as they walked toward the academic center.
Maverick Library
San Antonio residents, who identified themselves as A and A Garza, a heterosexual middle-aged couple, walked hand in hand toward a line of people waiting to enter the Maverick Library on the city’s Northwest Side.
Both veterans, they said they hoped their vote helps bring more candidates on their side of politics, and that candidates bring back “normalcy.” The woman says they believe in “pro-life, right-to-bear-arms and same-sex marriages.”
They said they felt poorly about election integrity.
“We’d just like to see America come back to the fundamentals, believe in God and stand for what built this country.”
Claude W. Black Community Center
Ralph Henderson, an East Side native, said he came out to vote Tuesday because he wants to be a part of electing people into office who are going to do something to fix the economy.
“I’m not just talking about the president, I’m talking about the people in Congress,” the 47-year old said. Henderson said he also wants to see judges elected into office that are going to be tough on crime.
Despite being caked in a thin layer of mud from work, Jackson Merchant, 24, also came to the community center to vote. He said voting is the most important thing American citizens can do, and noted waiting to vote was only 10 minutes.
While casting his ballot, Merchant said it was protection of personal freedoms that he was thinking about, although he declined to expand on that further.
Walking into the polling center, Lesly Villanova, 25, said she wasn’t even intending to vote on Tuesday but all of her friends pushed her to, telling her it was important.
“I’m still 50-50 on who to vote for,” she said, adding she would vote for “whoever felt right” once she got inside the booth.
Iris Dimmick and Scott Ball contributed to this report.
