Texas Early Voting Opens With Records in Dallas and Harris Counties

Texas voters turned out in record numbers on Monday, Oct. 19, the first day of early voting for the Nov. 3 midterm elections. Harris County, home to Houston, counted a little over 104,600 in-person voters by the time polls closed. Dallas County counted 76,079. Both totals set first day records for their counties.

Harris passed its old mark by mid-afternoon

The Harris County Elections Department said more than 70,000 in-person voters had been processed by 3:30 p.m. on Monday. That was already past the county's previous first day midterm record of 63,188 votes, set in 2018. The count rose to a little over 104,600 by the close of polls. The county also reported 24,794 mail ballots received as of Monday. During early voting, Harris County voters can cast a ballot at any polling location in the county.

Dallas beat even its presidential year start

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said 76,079 people voted on the first day, the most the county has ever recorded on an opening day of early voting. The total beat the previous record of 60,573, set in 2020. It also topped the 56,431 who voted on the first day of the 2024 general election, and the 59,388 counted on the first day of the 2018 midterm.

North Texas counties surged from 2022

Tarrant County reported 50,409 ballots cast on the first day, up from 29,197 in the 2022 midterm, though below the 58,487 cast on the first day in 2024, according to figures from the Tarrant County Elections Administration and the Texas Secretary of State reported by NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth. Denton County counted 34,739 voters, more than 17,000 above its 2022 first day. Collin County counted 34,522, more than 15,000 above 2022. In Collin County, printer problems on Monday morning slowed check-in at some sites, and some voters said they had to leave, NBC 5 reported.

A record electorate and a close Senate race

Texas has a record 19,041,684 registered voters for this election, Secretary of State Robert Howden announced earlier this month. Voters had to be registered by Oct. 5 to take part in the Nov. 3 election. At the top of the Texas ballot, the U.S. Senate race between Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico has drawn comparisons with 2018, when Ted Cruz beat Beto O'Rourke in a close race during President Donald Trump's first midterm. Early voting in Texas runs from Oct. 19 through Oct. 30. In Dallas County, polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Oct. 24, from noon to 6 p.m. on Oct. 25, and from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. again from Oct. 26 to Oct. 30. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.