Travis County Could See Record Voter Turnout

AUSTIN, TX — Given the current pace of early voting, the county in particular and the state in general could reach a new record in terms of ballots cast, the Travis County clerk told Patch on Monday.

As of around 1 p.m. on Monday, 41,000 ballots had been cast since early voting began on Tuesday, Feb. 18, Travis County Clerk Dana Debeauvoir said during a telephone interview. With four more days left during the early voting period ending on Feb. 28, the pace of voting could very well break previous highs, Debeauvoir said.

The county clerk noted the tallies come after two previous election cycles that resulted in record turnouts: The presidential election of 2016 and the gubernatorial election of 2018. While numerous candidates appear on ballots for local and state office, the current totals are being driven largely by the Democratic presidential primary, she noted.

"This third one looks like it may break all the records," Debeauvoir said. "We're optimistic that in terms of early voting that we could end up with a 50 percent increase from the last presidential campaign," she said. That contest lured a little over 90,000 voters, the county clerk said. The 2018 gubernatorial election drew a little more than 80,000 voters, she added.

Check out the latest voting numbers by county here

"We're going to hit the last record, and could go much higher," Debeauvoir said. "We'll know more on Tuesday," she added, referencing Election Day. Judging from the current brisk pace, the county could see 100,000 early voters participating in the elections during the early voting period, she said. "The question is: How much over 100,000," the clerk added tantalizingly.

Given the Democratic nature of the presidential primary, Republicans have been casting ballots at a much lower rate than Democrats, the county clerk noted. She spoke to Patch the day after current Democratic front runner Bernie Sanders hosted a political rally at the Vic Mathias shores after having visited other Texas cities and on the heels of having won the key Nevada primary.

Debeauvoir was gratified at the high voter turnout, hoping the momentum will help Texas emerge as cellar dwellers in terms of participation. The Lone Star State has historically traded off with Mississippi as the state with the nation's lowest level of voter participation — a dubious distinction from which the state might emerge this time around, Debeauvoir said.

"We love it when voters come out and vote," the county clerk said, hopeful for the state to emerge from a record of "crummy voter turnout." Some state policies and laws — gerrymandering chief among such dynamics — tend to discourage people from voting, Debeauvoir said in pointing to likely contributors to historically low voter turnouts.

This year, the county has a new election system combining touch screen technology with a paper ballot backup. Despite the inaugural nature of its roll-out, Debeauvoir said she's received no reports of problems at any polling stations since the early voting period began nearly a week ago.

However, the process has not been without its glitches. For some reason, the county clerk said, the sticky part of this year's crop of "I Voted" stickers isn't affixing properly to voters' garments: "We have a new recipe for the sticky stuff on the "I Voted" stickers, and they're not sticking," she said with a laugh. "They keep falling off. The stickers aren't sticking — that's our big problem."

For a list of early voting polling places, consult the map above or click here.