It’s never easy to say exactly when the election results will be known, and changes in voting methods since the start of the pandemic have made the task even more difficult. Depending on the state and race, waiting for results can take anywhere from a few minutes to more than a month after the polls close.
However, in Texas, the calculation is simplified by the fact that almost everyone must vote in person. Unlike many states, Texas has very narrow eligibility criteria for mail-in ballots, which can take longer to count.
Most polling stations close at 8:00 pm ET. (A small streak of locations around El Paso, which is in a different time zone than the rest of the state, will close an hour later.) Republican and one Democrat—to administer, we should get mostly complete results within a few hours.
In-person early voting took place from 14 to 25 February, and votes cast during this period should be reported very quickly after the polls close. The votes cast on Election Day must then be counted.
A very small number of mail-in ballots may be received after Election Day, but they are unlikely to delay the determination of winners in any but the razor-thin races. And since this is a primary, there’s no need to worry about “mirages” where early results are skewed by Democrats and Republicans using different voting methods.
By 1 a.m. ET Wednesday, state officials said most of the results should be reported.
Alicia Parlapiano contributed reporting.