Early voting topples Tarrant County turnout records

Tarrant County voters are heading to the polls almost as if there were no tomorrow.

In the first three days of early voting, 28,292 local ballots — 17,767 Republican and 10,525 Democrat — were cast here in person or by mail for the March 1 presidential primaries, state election records show.

That topples the previous high tally of 26,190 set in 2008, when Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton battled for the presidential nomination deeper than expected into the primary season, spurring supporters locally and nationwide to a record high turnout.

Now Republicans are leading the way, heading to the polls in record numbers to weigh in on their crowded and contentious presidential primary.

“There has been a buildup for months about the presidential race and people are ready to vote,” said Frank Phillips, Tarrant County’s elections administrator.

“It’s not unique to Tarrant County,” he said. “It’s going on across the state.”

Statewide, 227,789 Texans, nearly 2.5 percent of registered voters, had cast ballots in person or by mail through the first three days of early voting. More than half were Republicans — 123,736 to 104,053 Democrats, election records show.

Election officials have long said excitement about the race for the White House this year could motivate more than the usual number of the state’s 14.1 million registered voters — more than 1 million in Tarrant County alone — to vote.

And this might just be the beginning.

“Typically, our first few days are in the ballpark of each other and then we start to see a steady climb,” Phillips said. “Next Thursday and Friday could be our biggest turnout.”

That’s even more reason Texans should vote early, said Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

“There is every reason to vote early because Election Day could end up being quite crowded,” he said.

Early voting runs through Feb. 26.

Presidential battles

This election isn’t just about the presidency.

Tarrant County voters also will weigh in on a slew of elections stretching from Congress to the Legislature to the local courthouse, not to mention picking leaders for the local county Republican and Democratic parties.

But presidential elections generally draw the largest turnout.

In the 2004 primary in Tarrant County, just 1,030 Republicans and 2,300 Democrats cast ballots by the end of the third day of early voting, state records show.

The early voting tally in 2008, during that same timeframe, went up to 18,212 Democrats and 7,978 Republicans. In 2012, GOP numbers rose and Democratic numbers dropped — 10,626 and 3,787 respectively — during the same timeframe, records show.

Now, numbers are on the rise and the previous overall turnout records set in 2008 have been surpassed, due to the GOP presidential race pitting Ted Cruz, Donald Trump, Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson and more.

Democrats are choosing between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, who are embroiled in a feisty battle for their party’s nomination.

“Any time you don’t have an incumbent running for office, you naturally have high interest regardless of party,” Phillips said.

This story was originally published February 19, 2016 at 4:07 PM with the headline "Early voting topples Tarrant County turnout records."