Texas Achieves Record 15 Million Registered Voters Ahead Of November Election

AUSTIN, TX -- The Texas Secretary of State's office on Thursday announced that the state has registered more than 15 million voters -- an all-time high for the Lone Star State.

The record vividly illustrates the high interest in the upcoming Nov. 8 presidential election pitting Democrat Hillary Clinton against Republican Donald Trump.

“If you want to vote you must be registered, so it’s good to see that so many Texans are preparing for this November’s election,” Texas Secretary of State Carlos H. Cascos said in a prepared statement.

As of Thursday morning, the number of registered voters is 15,015,700, Cascos revealed. That number represents about 78 percent of Texas’ estimated voting age population of 19.3 million residents. Voting age population estimates include Texans who may not be eligible to vote such as non-citizens or convicted felons who have not yet fully discharged their sentence, Cascos noted.
The last day to register in time for the November 8 Election was October 11.

The 15 million reached total represents a preliminary estimate of the number of voters who will be registered for the election, Cascos said. The number will likely increase a bit as last-minute applications continue to be processed during the next few days, he added.

Cascos crunched the numbers from past years to highlight the significant milestone: In the last presidential election year, Texas had 13,646,226 registered voters or 75 percent of voting age population. In 2008, the number was 13,575,062 or roughly 77 percent of the voting age population.

More recently, ahead of the 2016 primaries in March, Texas had 14,238,436 or 74 percent of estimated voting age population.
“Registration is just the first step,” said Secretary Cascos. “I encourage Texans to prepare now for this fall’s election.”
The last day to request a ballot by mail is Oct. 28. Early voting in person begins Oct. 24 and runs through November 4. On Election Day, polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

For more information, voters can visit VoteTexas.gov or call 1-800-252-VOTE.

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