Despite a larger voter roll, Texas voters are turning out as much during early voting for the presidential primaries this year as they did in 2016. The Texas Secretary of State recorded 2,085,703 votes from February 17 to February 28 in the state’s 254 counties.
One million Texans cast a ballot in the Democratic primary while 1,085,000 Texans voted for Republicans.
In 2016, the last presidential primary, Texas had 4.3 million total voters in the election, with 1.8 million voting early in person or casting their ballot by mail. There were over 14 million registered voters in Texas in 2016. The most recent figures show there are now 16.2 million registered voters in the Lone Star State.
Both parties have increased their turnout from 2018. The GOP has not reached its turnout from 2016. Democrats, on the other hand, have cruised past 2016, but have not reached the historic turnout 10.1 percent of 2008.
During this early voting period, Harris County produced the state’s largest turnout, with 244,043 votes cast in person or by mail. The 2020 early vote increased from the 2016 early voting period when Harris County saw 216,938 cumulative in-person and mail voters.
Other major counties showing big increases in combined in-person voter turnout and mailed in ballots included:
- Dallas County where 135,044, voted in person or by mail, up from 121,710 in 2016.
- Bexar County where 137,293 voted in person or by mail, up from 115,790 in 2016.
- Travis County, where 99,262 voted in person or by mail, up from 93,364 in 2016.
- Collin County where 82,064 voted in person or by mail, up from 77,401 in 2016.
- Denton County where 75,038 voted in person or by mail, up from 59,718 in 2016.
- Fort Bend County where 71,958 voted in person or by mail, up from 43,517 in 2016.
- Hidalgo County where 53,420 voted in person or by mail, up from 53,000 in 2016.
The only populous county to not match the 2016 totals was Tarrant County where 137,993 voted in person or by mail, down from 139,396 in 2016.
Those who didn’t vote during early voting can still cast their ballot on Tuesday, March 3, Election Day. Super Tuesday.
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