First week of early voting turnout in North Texas more favorable to Republicans, expert says
DALLAS - With Election Day just a week away, voters across North Texas are energized. And many have already made their way to the polls. But what does that mean for Election Day?
There were long lines at many early voting polling locations in Texas.
Nearly 1.2 million people cast their vote across Dallas, Tarrant, Collin, and Denton counties during the first week of early voting.
Dallas and Tarrant are now nearing 35% voter turnout with three days of early voting left to go. Denton and Collin counties are nearing 45%.
One big change this year is that, unlike four years ago, Donald Trump is telling Republicans to vote early.
"In the past, there’s been some Republican skepticism about early voting, and Republicans have really preferred to vote on Election Day. But the Trump campaign has made a real point of emphasizing the value of early voting and getting those votes banked. That’s been something that Democrats have been talking about for 20 years now," said Matthew Wilson, an SMU political scientist.
Dallas County is a Democrat stronghold. And while more than 400,000 people have voted, the early turnout totals lag behind Tarrant County.
North Texas sees increase in early voting during first week compared to 2020
Nearly 1.2 million people voted during the first week of early voting in Dallas, Tarrant, Collin and Denton counties.
Biden won Tarrant County by a very slim margin in 2020, and Democrats there hope to make even more gains.
Wilson was asked to interpret the early voting trends.
"It’s not good for Democrats. I mean it doesn’t doom them. There’s still some time to go. We don’t know if some Republicans are not voting for Trump or they’re not voting for Cruz. All that’s up in the air. But you’d rather have these numbers if you’re Republican than have these numbers if you were Democrat. It’s not a done deal, but it’s an encouraging sign for Republicans," he said.
Texas early voting is underway. Here’s what you need to know
Early voting is now underway across Texas. Here's what you need to know to cast your ballot.
Wilson said the strong turnout could mean quicker results on Election Night in some key Texas races.
"If you already have 60 to 70% of the vote in the bank, then anybody who has anything of a lead more than two points, you’re going to feel pretty good about their chances of hanging on once the Election Day vote is counted. Particularly since more Republicans have voted early, you may not see the same kind of partisan imbalance in early voting versus Election Day voting that you’ve seen in the past. If Election Day voting therefore looks more like the patterns in early voting, I think we will be able to use those early voting numbers to tell us a lot about who has won," he said.