Early Voting: Harris County exceeds 2016 Voting Numbers

1.15 million voted in first two weeks

In the second full week of early voting in Texas, Harris County residents continued to set turnout records. As of Tuesday morning, 1.15 million Harris County residents had voted early, a record that eclipsed 2016 levels, when 977,000 voters voted early during the entire 12-day early voting period. With four days of early voting left in addition to Election Day, Harris County has already achieved 88 percent of its total 2016 total turnout (1.3 million).

Joint efforts by civic organizations like members of Houston in Action in partnership with local officials to expand voter registration, education and equitable voting access have helped ensure Harris County’s election infrastructure was prepared to handle the enormous turnout.

Top-line numbers:

• Overall, 1,149,047 million Harris County residents have voted during the first two full weeks of early voting – an 18 percent increase over 2016 levels, in which 977,279 Texans in Harris County voted early during the 12 days of early voting (this year, early voting was extended due to the pandemic).

• With four days of early voting left in addition to Election Day, Harris County has already achieved 88 percent of its total 2016 total turnout (1.3 million).

• Nearly half of all registered voters in Harris County (46%) have already voted.

• Harris County is currently averaging about 82,000 votes per day. If this average holds, it will eclipse total 2016 voter turnout – 1.3 million, which includes both early voting and Election Day voting – by the end of the week.

• Turnout in Harris County accounts for ~15 percent of all ballots cast so far in Texas.

• Thanks in large part to the record-setting pace of Harris County, Texas continues to lead the nation in the number of people who have voted early – over 7.8 million – and in the percentage of its 2016 vote total that has already voted – a whopping 87 percent.

“The level of enthusiasm and turnout that Texans are demonstrating is unparalleled,” Ana Mac Naught, Houston in Action, said. “For months, community leaders, members of Houston in Action, and local elected officials have worked relentlessly to ensure Harris County voters had multiple ways of casting a ballot safely and securely in the midst of an unprecedented global pandemic. Harris County voters are responding by turning out in record numbers. And that’s a good thing, because our democracy is strengthened when more people participate, not less.”