Travis County Early Voting Shatters Records Amid Registration Glitch

Travis County voters set a new benchmark for midterm elections by casting 449,556 ballots during the early voting period. These unofficial figures from the County Clerk’s Office show a turnout rate of 47.39% among the county’s 948,567 registered voters, marking the highest early vote total in the region’s recent history.

Three key factors define this election cycle. First, in-person voting dominated the early period, with 430,859 ballots cast at polling locations compared to 18,697 received by mail. Second, the current tally of 552,560 total ballots, including Election Day votes, places unofficial turnout at 58.25%. This figure exceeds the 51.99% recorded in 2022 but remains below the 63% peak from 2018. Third, the election concluded a period of administrative friction. A statewide glitch prevented more than 35,000 voter registrations submitted via the Texas Department of Public Safety from reaching the county. Some registrations were delayed for nearly a year before the backlog was cleared on Oct. 14.

Clerk Dyana Limon-Mercado stated in a Nov. 3 release that the team is honored to serve voters who showed up in record numbers. The high participation rate occurred despite the temporary disruption to the registrar’s database. Local races will see a second round on Dec. 12, as runoffs are scheduled by the Texas Secretary of State’s Office. The county is currently processing remaining ballots, including domestic mail ballots postmarked by 7 p.m. on Nov. 3 and received by 5 p.m. on Nov. 4, as well as overseas ballots received by Nov. 9. Provisional ballots are also under review by the Tax Assessor-Collector’s Office and the Early Voting Ballot Board.

The official count is not finalized until the canvass is complete. This process must be finished by Nov. 17. Until that date, the clerk’s office continues to verify and tabulate the outstanding votes to determine the final results for the midterm election.