Houston looks to boost turnout by offering 24-hour voting

HOUSTON (AP) — As rapper Bun B finished his late-night set during a drive-in concert to promote eight 24-hour polling places in and around Houston, he urged fans to go out into the night — and early morning — to vote.

“It feels good to see my people out there that are ready to vote, ready to be heard ... If you haven’t voted yet, you need to drive on over. The polls are open right now,” the Houston-based performer said during the livestreamed concert Thursday.

Many followed the rapper’s advice as they flocked to the polling sites in Harris County — Texas’ most populous county — to cast their ballots starting late Thursday and into Friday, the last day of early voting in the state.

“It’s very convenient, especially for those people that work at night and sleep during the day,” Silveria Sanchez, 36, an emergency medical technician dispatcher, said after voting around 12:30 a.m. Friday during a break from her overnight shift at the Texas Medical Center. She walked five minutes to cast her ballot at a polling station at a food court in the sprawling Houston hospital complex.

Harris County officials have launched some innovative efforts to make it easier to vote in the presidential election. As well as the 24-hour polling sites, the county offers drive-thru voting, and has encouraged its voters to cast their ballots early. It has also challenged the state over limits on mail-in voting and drop-off boxes for absentee ballots. By Thursday evening, Harris County had surpassed its entire 2016 voter turnout of 1.3 million and, as of Friday morning, Texas voters had cast more than the state's total 8,969,226 votes of 2016.

“Hopefully in the future, dozens of counties follow our lead and offer a night of 24-hour voting to support their voters,” said Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins.

Voting sites...