Name: Travis County early voting: 40,000 cast ballots as of 6:30 p.m., clerk says
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Travis County early voting: 40,000 cast ballots as of 6:30 p.m., clerk says

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&nbsp;A wave of early voters in Travis County and across Texas is part of a national surge of people taking advantage of the chance to cast their ballots early, especially after several states extended their early voting period amid the coronavirus pandemic.According to data from Texas secretary of state’s website, more than 2.6 million people, or 15.51% of the nearly 17 million registered voters in the state, had cast their ballots by the end of the third day of early voting Thursday.Travis County has made up more than 140,000 of those 2.6 million votes cast statewide. At the end of Thursday, about 16.44% of the county’s 855,175 registered voters had cast a ballot. At least 40,000 more would be added to that by the end of Friday.Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir credits the turnout to excitement among voters and the availability of early voting options, such as hand delivering mail-in ballots."I think people are also making a special effort to get out and vote, and I think that is why we are seeing so much turnout loaded at the front end of this," she said.According to Travis County data, on the first day of early voting, 35,890 people voted in person, nearly tying 2016 data. In 2016, 35,999 ballots were cast in-person on the first day of early voting.On Wednesday, the second day of early voting, 38,150 ballots were cast in person, which is 1,700 more than its counterpart day in 2016. On Thursday, 39,263 ballots were cast, which is almost 5,000 more than in 2016 on the third day of early voting.On Friday, the fourth day of early voting, 40,000 people had cast ballots in-person by 6:30 p.m.An increase in mail-in ballots also has contributed to the increase in voter turnout this year, DeBeauvoir said.The clerk’s office has received 80,573 requests for mail-in ballots, and about 76,500 of those requests, as of Friday, have been fulfilled and mailed out to voters. Since Tuesday, she said, the clerk’s office has received 27,000 ballots through the mail and an additional 10,000 came through hand delivery."Voters have been advised repeatedly not to wait until the last minute to vote," DeBeauvoir said. "And I think folks are wanting to make sure their vote is in and counts."She said the legal disputes about expanded early voting and mail-in ballot drop-off locations have troubled voters."All this back and forth makes voters vulnerable and unsure exactly how voting will go," she said. "It’s a cheap way to intimidate voters and when we talk with people about it, they are not happy."Similar record-breaking trends have been reported across Texas, as early voting continues into its fifth day.Harris County, where Houston is the county seat, reported 82,288 votes cast as of 4 p.m. Friday. On Thursday, that county received 105,135 votes in person and 6,250 mail ballots. The grand total in the first three days of early voting, nearly 399,000 votes, accounted for about 17% of its more than 2.4 million registered voters.In Bexar County, the home county of San Antonio, more than 162,000 people had voted by the end of the third day of early voting Thursday. An additional 19,953 votes had been cast by 1 p.m. Friday.Dallas County reported 175,308 total votes by the end of Thursday.Travis County Tax Assessor-Collector Bruce Elfant reported Tuesday that nearly all eligible voters in Travis County were registered to vote this year.Of the county’s more than 850,000 eligible voters, a record 97% of them are registered to vote in the Nov. 3 general election, he said.Texas has 1.8 million more registered voters than four years ago with nearly 17 million registered as of Thursday. Across the state, 78% of eligible voters are registered.Elfant says those numbers are driven by younger voters. In 2018, the 18-25 age demographic of registered voters had increased by 6%, which he said was confirmed in this year’s July primary runoff election, when many young people voted."What we've seen is a lot of young people getting registered for the first time," he said. "Because they know that the decisions local governments make will impact their lives over the next 50 years and this will help shape your future."Registration efforts in communities of color have also been successful, and he expects large turnouts among those communities.With more people moving to Travis County, more people turning 18, and more residents becoming citizens every day, the number of eligible voters also has increased."There are so many moving parts to voter registration," Elfant said. "But we have good infrastructure here in Travis County that helps us reach more communities."But Elfant warned that it’s not good enough to be registered: Following through to vote was what really counted.Based on early voting turnout so far, he is hopeful the county can reach 70% overall turnout. In the 2008 presidential election overall turnout was about 66%, and in 2016 it was about 65%."I can't remember that last time it was 70%, but I think that could happen this year," Elfant said. "It's exciting to watch and I think this is going to be a record-setting turnout."

&nbsp;A wave of early voters in Travis County and across Texas is part of a national surge of people taking advantage of the chance to cast their ballots early, especially after several states extended their early voting period amid the coronavirus pandemic.According to data from Texas secretary of state’s website, more than 2.6 million people, or 15.51% of the nearly 17 million registered voters in the state, had cast their ballots by the end of the third day of early voting Thursday.Travis County has made up more than 140,000 of those 2.6 million votes cast statewide. At the end of...

Travis County early voting: 40,000 cast ballots as of 6:30 p.m., clerk says

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