Texas exceeded over 90 percent of the state’s total 2016 turnout on Thursday, with less than a week left until Election Day.
According to the Texas Secretary of State, at least 8,449,858 cumulative personal and postal ballots had been cast by October 28 during the state’s early voting period.
For comparison, throughout the 2016 Presidential Election, the Texas Secretary of State’s data shows at least 8,969,226 cumulative votes cast.
The number of early votes cast in Texas to date means that the state has already reported 94.2 percent of its total 2016 turnout, with residents still having a few days to cast their ballots.
The data also shows that there are currently 16,955,519 registered voters in the state, which means that Texas’ turnout so far in 2020 has been about 49.84 percent.
In addition, Texas has a higher number of voter registrations in 2020 than in 2016, when 15,101,087 voters were registered.
In all of Texas, Montgomery County has recorded the highest early turnout in Texas, as the data shows that 65 percent of ballots have already been cast. Montgomery is followed by Colin County and Williamson County, both with 62 percent, while Comal County and Fort Bend County reported 61 percent.
Early voting in Texas ends on October 31.
Abhi Rahman, communications director of the Texas Democratic Party, told Tekk.tv by e-mail that “Texans are increasingly making themselves heard with record-breaking sums.
“This bodes well for the Texas Democrats and our movement. Young people, colored people, and new voters are making for record-breaking turnout in Texas. Nevertheless, the Texas Democrats must continue. We have our hands full,” Rahman added. “We need all hands on deck to turn Texas blue from top to bottom.”
Luke Twombly, the communications director of the Texas Republican Party, told Tekk.tv that “Republican voters know how crucial this election is.
“We are excited about the turnout across the state, our floor games were strong, and we expect to hold seats and win elections across the state,” Twombly told Tekk.tv.
In addition to Texas, several other states across the state have also seen high voter turnout during their respective early voting periods.
According to the U.S. Election Project, which was initiated by Michael McDonald, a professor of political science at the University of Florida, more than 78 million early votes were cast across the United States.
In the total number of early votes, Texas is behind California, which received over 8.4 million early votes, while Florida received more than 7.3 million.
