Early voter turnout in Texas primary shatters records

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Early voter turnout in Texas primary shatters records
By AMAN BATHEJA
Star-Telegram staff writer


Early voting in Texas' March 4 primary ended Friday with turnout numbers that shattered all records, indicating that Texans are well aware of the pivotal importance the state may play in picking the presidential nominees.

As of Thursday, 959,666 people had voted in the state's 15 most populous counties, according to the Texas secretary of state's office. More than 700,000 of them participated in the Democratic primary.

The numbers far outpace the early turnout in primaries in recent presidential election years. In 2000, about 315,000 voters cast early ballots in the 15 largest counties. Fewer than 300,000 cast early ballots in 2004.

In Tarrant County, 123,352 people voted early, according to the unofficial tally provided Friday evening. Of those, 86,594, or about 70 percent, voted in the Democratic primary, Elections Administrator Steve Raborn said.

Several early-voting locations had to stay open late Friday because of the number of voters still in line at 7 p.m. The Euless library stayed open until 9:15, allowing more than 100 people to vote after 7, Raborn said. A total of 1,746 votes were cast countywide after 7 Friday, Raborn said.

"We have never seen this kind of early voting turnout in a primary election," Raborn said.

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