Travis County Early Vote Hits Record High

Travis County residents cast 444,690 ballots during the early voting period that ran from October 19 through October 30. This total exceeds the number of early votes recorded in any midterm election in the county since at least 1998, according to data from the Texas Secretary of State.

The figure also surpasses the early voting totals from the 2012 presidential election between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. Of the total early ballots, 427,897 were cast in person and 16,793 were submitted by mail. The participation rate reached 46.68% of registered voters, a figure that is slightly lower than the 2018 midterm but higher than the 2022 cycle.

Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston, noted that high early turnout does not guarantee a high final vote count. He stated that some of the increase may reflect existing voters casting their ballots earlier rather than new voters joining the electorate.

County officials expanded access by opening 45 early voting sites, which is seven more than the number available during the last midterm election. The county also opened 201 polling sites for Election Day, the highest number since the district ended precinct-based voting.

Registered voters in Travis County may cast their ballots at any of these 201 locations until polls close at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, November 3.