EARLY VOTING
Election Day is Nov. 3
Kendall County elections officials are hoping for a strong turnout in the final two days of early voting, but at the Star’s deadline the numbers were not very different from prior midterms.
Through Wednesday, 15,985 early votes had been cast, or 38.7% of registered voters in the county.
Elections Administrator Staci Decker said the figure “is about average” for an even-year election when the top race on the ballot was the gubernatorial contest and not the presidency. “Really, we’re on par, maybe a little bit lower, compared to what we had in 2018,” Decker said. “In 2018, we had just under 47% turnout. That’s the most comparable election.” The 2022 election was marred by controversy after pre-election disinformation cast doubts on whether early votes would be counted on Election Day, pollsters said.
But while Decker expressed some disappointment with current turnout, she also sounded a note of optimism.
“We’re a little bit on the lower side, I was hoping this week would grow ... but I’m not seeing it,” she said.
County election officials hoped by the end of early voting Friday, the numbers could reach 50%.
Election Day is Tuesday. According to the figures, every weekday in the first week of early voting topped 1,800 going to the polls, with Oct. 19’s opening day drawing the most so far, at 2,156, followed by Oct. 20’s 2,144 votes.
Week two turnout continues to be light: 1,488 on Monday, 1,501 on Tuesday and 1,351 ballots on Wednesday.
Decker said the final days of early voting traditionally bring larger numbers of the electorate, rivaling the first day’s turnout.
“We’re going to be surpassing the 2022 totals, but we’re still coming in lower, right now, than 2018,” she added.
Texas has 19 million registered voters ahead of the Nov. 3 General Election, a record number for the Lone Star State, according to state officials.
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