With two days left, early voting turnout has reached over 50,000

THE WOODLANDS, TX – As Election Day looms for the midterm elections early next week, early voting has been steady, with an average of approximately 5,500 voters hitting the polls each day.

With today and tomorrow remaining in the early voting period before Election Day next Tuesday, 36,995 people have cast their ballots for the GOP primary, while 13,418 have voted in the Democratic Party primary, with an average of 4,077 Republicans and 1,490 Democrats choosing their respective parties’ each day. By far, the first day of early voting was the most popular for both parties.

Should this average hold, a little more than 60,000 people will have cast their votes by the time early voting ends. In what could be used as a civics lesson on the importance of midterm elections versus presidential ones, this is a fraction of the number of people who early voted in 2024 for the Trump/Harris race.

In the first week alone of early voting in October of 2024, more than 135,000 cast their ballots, with a total of 249,526 early voters hitting the polls, shattering the previous record of 237,186 in 2020. The 2024 election saw 54.6 percent of Montgomery County registered voters casting early ballots, so this midterm election season is seeing a precipitously lower percentage turnout.

Current records show that Montgomery County has 468,975 registered voters, according to the Montgomery County Elections website.

The stakes are high both locally and nationally in this election cycle, With multiple, hotly contested races at the municipal, county, state, and federal levels hanging in the balance, every voter should consider researching their options and casting their votes. Of particular note are the GOP races for County Judge – being vied for by incumbent Mark Keough and Precinct 1 Justice of the Peace Wayne Mack – and Congressional District 2, fronted by incumbent Dan Crenshaw and State Representative Steve Toth along with N. Lee Plum and Martin Etwop. James Graf is the sole Democrat running for County Judge, while Shaun Finnie will be the only Democrat to face the winner of the GOP primary in November.

For Thursday and Friday, all early voting locations are open from 7 a.m. through 7 p.m., and voters may cast their ballots as long as they are in line before 7 p.m. People are encouraged to still vote early, as Election Day Tuesday, March 3, forces voters to exercise their right only at their precinct polling locations.

Stay tuned to Woodlands Online for ongoing coverage of this election season.