Early Voters in Texas Crush 2016 Turnout

This 2020 election season, Texas is shattering records as the number of early in-person and mail-in ballots is currently exceeding the total number of votes cast in the election of 2016. Through the coronavirus pandemic and highly contested presidential races in our nation’s history, one thing is for sure: people are wasting no time. Early-voting has attracted an unfathomable number of citizens across the United States. As of this morning, over 83 million votes have been cast and the number is continuing to grow as people are waiting in lines to vote currently in every state. According to the nonpartisan U.S. Elections Project.

the current number of early voters alone represents a little over 60% of the total ballots which were cast only four years ago.

As today is the last day for early voting in Texas, already 9,009,850 individuals have voted either by mail, drop-off ballots or attended polling sites. Just four years ago, 8,969,226 Texans voted in the 2016 election.

These numbers show there has been a large increase fueled by a huge turnout in Democratic, urban, areas like Harris County. Although the rural counties scattered throughout this region have traditionally voted Republican, there has been a significant jump in voting for both parties. These early-voting patterns in bigger cities like Austin and San Antonio have even suggested that this presidential race is less like 2016, but none-the-less, just as important. If you’ve not made the time to vote yet, stop by a polling site because you still have time! As early voting ends today, the very last day to vote is Tuesday, November 3^rd.

Thanks to our intern Lorin Walker for her contribution to this story.