Several counties and big cities see record turnout for midterms
Voting is underway in the Lone Star State, and one day into early voting saw incredible turnout throughout the state. From Houston to Austin, the Rio Grande Valley and El Paso, early vote totals for the first day were twice and in some cases three times as high as in the 2014 midterms, and comparable to the 2016 presidential elections.
Below are the numbers from across the state on day 1 of early voting via the Texas Tribune. Find the piece in its entirety here.
The state’s largest counties all saw much larger first-day turnout than they did in the previous midterm elections in 2014. Dallas County’s combined in person and mail-in votes topped out at 55,384 on Monday, almost 26,000 more than were cast in 2014, according to The Dallas Morning News.
In Bexar County, The San Antonio Express News reported that as of 4 p.m. Monday more than 24,000 people had voted in person, compared to 13,436 who voted in person first day in 2014.
Bruce Elfant, Travis County Tax Assessor-Collector and Voter Registrar, reported on Facebook Monday night in-person and mail-in votes for Travis County totaled 47,405, compared to 17,181 first-day in-person and mail-in votes in 2014.
Smaller counties also saw big turnout. Midland County Election Administrator Deborah Land said out of 84,945 registered voters in her county, 3,546 had voted by 4 p.m. Monday — compared to just 756 who voted the first day in 2014.
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More than 63,000 in-person votes were cast in Harris County, The Houston Chronicle reported, compared to 20,215 in 2014.
And from the Monitor in the Rio Grande Valley:
Hidalgo County Elections Department unofficial totals released Monday evening show 14,705 ballots were cast at its 34 early voting polling locations. Early voting kicked off Monday morning and continues through Friday, Nov. 2.
In 2014, 7,098 voters cast their ballots on the first day. In 2016, a presidential election year, 18,525 voters showed up to the polls on the first day.
Mario Carrillo, State Director of America’s Voice Texas, issued the following statement:
Something special is happening in Texas. We’ve felt it all year long, with massive crowds coming out in support of candidates throughout the state, and now the early voting returns are showing it. We must keep this up and support organizations like MOVE Texas, Jolt Texas, Mi Familia Vota, United We Dream, among many others who are leading this effort. Texas, as one of the most diverse states in the country, must pave the way forward for the rest of the country, especially on issues like immigration, which for many Texans is very personal.
