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The first day of early voting for the 2024 election in Texas breaks turnout records
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The first day of early voting for the 2024 election in Texas breaks turnout records

Early voting The 2024 election got off to a hot start in Texas on Monday, with more than 840,000 people casting their votes in person statewide.

Preliminary data from the Texas Secretary of State shows that 843,130 people voted early Monday, representing over 4.5% of registered voters.

Monday’s vote far exceeds the total from the first day of in-person early voting for the 2020 presidential election, when 755,136 Texans voted in person, representing 4.4% of registered voters.

Vote totals for 2024 are expected to be far higher because data from more than a dozen counties is missing from the state’s website as of last check.

Overall, the first day’s increase in in-person early voting outpaced the explosive growth in the state’s population; The number of registered voters in Texas increased by more than 10% between 2020 and 2024.

Early voting in North Texas

All North Texas counties saw turnout increase on the first day of in-person early voting from 2020 to 2024, except Dallas County, which saw a decline of more than 4,800 votes. The lower voter turnout could have something to do with it Problem with digital poll books that Dallas County experienced on Monday, resulting in longer wait times and long lines at some voting centers.

While total early voting increased in Collin County, the share of voters who voted in person on the first day fell slightly compared to 2020.

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Source: Texas Secretary of State

CBS News Texas


Changing Texas election laws

The 2024 election will be the first presidential election in which new Texas election laws will take effect.

In 2021, the Republican-led Texas Legislature passed a law called SB1 in response to the false claim that the 2020 election was stolen. SB1 made several changes on the rules for early voting, including the time frame.

In 2020, the first day of in-person early voting in most counties was October 13, three weeks before Election Day. SB1 standardized early voting nationwide. The period runs from Monday, 15 days before Election Day, to the following Friday, three days before Election Day. SB1 also implemented new rules for when early voting locations are open.

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