More than 200,000 Texans participated in early voting during the 2024 primary election compared to the 2020 primary – despite an overall uptick in the number of registered voters in the state.
About 10% of registered voters, or 1.8 million people, cast a ballot during early voting, which ran from February 20 to March 1. That marked a significant decline from the last presidential primary election in 2020, where 12.6% of registered voters participated early.
The standouts include Dallas Congressman Colin Allred, who is leaving his current seat to run for senate, and State Sen. Roland Gutierrez from San Antonio.
But there are also several interesting congressional races to watch in DFW, with some big retirements from long-time politicians like Republican and U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess of Dallas and U.S. Rep. Kay Granger of Fort Worth, who was the state’s first Republican woman in Congress since she took that seat in 1997.
Early voting numbers statewide dipped compared to the previous presidential primary.
Despite an increase in statewide voter registration, early voting trailed the 2020 presidential primaries both in total votes cast and percentage turnout. The 2020 election saw over 200,000 more early votes than this year’s primaries.
Voters across all 254 counties are choosing Democratic and Republican nominees for the presidential election, as well as for representatives in Congress and the Texas Legislature. Lower-level judges and county offices are also on the ballot.
Young voters are noticeably absent in this year’s primaries
While voters under the age of 30 make up about 20% of registered voters in Texas, the same group only made up about 4% of early voters in this year’s primaries.
Texas has faced population growth in recent years, contributing to an overall increase in the number of registered voters. The population grew by 4% from January 2020 to January 2023, the majority of which was driven by migration, not new births. That growth did not necessarily translate into more early voters, though.
Political geography of Texas and turnout in each region
The Texas Tribune broke the state’s 254 counties into four groups based on how they lean politically to analyze where voters cast ballots. Early voting turnout percentages this year for the solid red group, consisting of 216 counties that historically lean heavily Republican, were closest to levels seen in 2020.
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