Rain fails to deter voters on final day of early voting as midterms near

With the midterm election approaching, voters turned out in the rain on the final day of early voting, saying the stakes were too high to stay home.

With the midterm election approaching, voters turned out in the rain on the final day of early voting, saying the stakes were too high to stay home. (SBG San Antonio)

Immigration, border security, the economy and the direction of the Trump administration were among the issues on voters’ minds as they headed to the polls despite wet weather. Voters said the rain was not enough to keep them from casting ballots.

Ree-Ree Friedman, who voted on the final day of early voting, said, “We’re very divisive right now and I want our country to come together. I feel like who I’m voting for is very important.”

Beatriz Lopez with Voto Latino said, “100% Texas is the epicenter. It is ground zero for what will happen in Congress.”

Voters also said getting to the polls was the easy part, but deciding what the future should look like carried more weight.

“I hope that folks will come out and pick people that see everyone as a human and not just the people that are in their voting party line,” Star McDad said.

Bridgett Deleon, an engineer who said he has been teaching students, described concerns about education and preparation for the workforce. “I’m an engineer and I’ve been teaching a lot of kids that are coming out of school and I see that there’s a lot a smart kids, but they don’t know how to utilize some of their education,” Deleon said.

Early voting participation for the midterm election was trending at historic levels, surpassing participation seen during the 2024 presidential election.

Lopez pointed to increased engagement among Latino voters, saying, “We saw a huge surge of Latino voters turn out for the Democratic primaries and that is sending a huge message right now that the Latino vote is very much awake.”

Voters who missed early voting still have an opportunity to vote on Nov. 3.