Texas' early voting turnout in 2022 falls short of midterm early vote in 2018
Update: This article has been updated with early voting numbers from the Bastrop County elections administrator.
Early voting turnout for this year's Nov. 8 midterm elections dropped statewide compared with the early voting turnout in the 2018 midterm elections.
Unofficial voting totals by the Texas secretary of state's office, which oversees Texas elections, indicate statewide voter turnout is about 31%, while 2018 results indicated that statewide early voting turnout was nearly 40% based on results reported by counties.
Both the 2022 and 2018 turnout numbers include mail-in and in-person votes during the early voting period, which ended Friday for the 2022 election. The 2022 count is unofficial and will be updated as numbers come in. Turnout rates are based on the proportion of people who voted among all registered voters.
The 2018 election ultimately had a total turnout rate of 53%; the rate for 2022 lags far behind that with only Election Day on Tuesday left for voting.
A breakdown by county in the Austin area
Travis County's early voting turnout dropped from 47% in 2018 to 37%, according to the Texas secretary of state's tallies Saturday morning.
Williamson County dropped from 49% in 2018 to 39%, according to Williamson County and Texas secretary of state counts for early voting.
Hays County dropped from nearly 47% in 2018 to 39%, according to secretary of state counts for early voting in both elections.
Bastrop County's 2022 early voting turnout is 35%. The total early voting turnout, including in-person and mailed ballots, was 20,283 voters. The county had 18,607 early voters in the 2022 general election and 1,299 mail ballots accepted, as of Monday.
More:What's on the ballot? Ultimate election guide to 2022 Austin-area races
Republicans and Democrats look to different areas to win needed votes
Brandon Rottinghaus, a University of Houston political science professor, said both parties were expecting higher turnout after 2018 and 2020. It's important to note that 2018 was a highlight year for turnout and an outlier in the state's tradition of low voter turnout compared with other states.
Rottinghaus said Republicans and Democrats are looking to different areas to boost their numbers.
"Republicans need bigger numbers in rural areas and suburban areas, and Democrats need to have bigger turnout in urban areas," Rottinghaus said. "So that's been the general way that elections have been formed in Texas."
What's worrying for Democrats is that urban turnout is lower than it was in 2018, Rottinghaus noted. For example, El Paso County, home to Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke, is seeing lower turnout at 20% compared with statewide turnout, which is 31%. El Paso County turnout is also lower than other counties with similar levels of registered voters, like Hidalgo County with 25% turnout and Fort Bend County at 36% turnout.
In this last stretch of campaigning before Election Day, Republican incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott was in Lubbock on Saturday and in Midland, Wichita Falls and Hays County on Friday. Meanwhile, O'Rourke held a Get Out the Vote rally Friday evening in Austin and was in San Antonio and Houston on Saturday.
More:Mail ballots from voters of color were more likely to be rejected
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas 2022 early voting turnout lower than 2018 early voting turnout
