Be excited about voting early, but be careful

Tarrant County residents casting early ballots in the presidential election should heed the advice of county election administrator Frank Phillips: Slow down, read the ballot, familiarize yourself with instructions on how to use the voting machines and be careful.

You can’t blame voters for being eager — that’s a good thing.

The Nov. 8 election to replace President Barack Obama has seen intense emotions on both sides. And early voting has become the preferred choice of people who want to vote.

Republican nominee Donald J. Trump has stoked voters’ fears with claims that the election is rigged.

One local voter said her voting machine switched her vote for Trump to one for his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. Election officials determined it was her unfamiliarity with the machine that led to the change and helped her correct it before the ballot was cast.

The Texas Secretary of State’s office said it has found no machines that have independently changed votes.

One polling place in Colleyville closed a few minutes early on Wednesday after a key computer used in the voter check-in process broke down.

Early voting continues through Nov. 4 and is on a record-breaking pace. More than 130,000 Tarrant County voters cast in-person ballots in the first three days.

The 2000 race between George W. Bush and Al Gore was the last presidential contest in Tarrant County in which Election Day voting exceeded the early vote tally. In 2012, two-thirds of local in-person presidential voters cast ballots early.

This story was originally published October 27, 2016 at 5:58 PM with the headline "Be excited about voting early, but be careful."