Early voting turnout in Travis County continued to surpass every primary election since 2008, with nearly 171,000 voters casting their ballots over the past two weeks.
Nearly 19% of all registered voters in the county went to the polls during early voting. That may seem small, but it's a big win for a county in Texas, which routinely trails behind the rest of the nation in voter turnout, according to the Texas Policy Project.
Out of Travis County's 920,114 registered voters, 14.8% cast a ballot in the Democratic primary, and 3.77% voted Republican.
With Election Day to go, Democrats have already surpassed the voter turnout of the last gubernatorial primary election in 2022. In that election, 13% of Democrats voted; this year, nearly 15% of Democrats have voted so far.
Voter turnout is up statewide, particularly among Democrats as they try to win a statewide office seat for the first time since 1994.
Matthew Wilson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University, told KERA News that in previous elections, Democrats haven't felt like they had a "real shot at winning." But a high-profile battle between U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett and Texas Rep. James Talarico to be the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in November has motivated voters to hit the polls.
"It certainly means that there's more hope on their side," Wilson told KERA News. "That for a variety of reasons, they've got a fighting chance to post some real gains in the fall."
Election Day is Tuesday, March 3. A guide to help you make a plan to vote in Travis County is available here.
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