Overview
- Early voting ended Oct. 30 with about 7.4 million Texans casting ballots, a preliminary midterm high that represents roughly 39% of registered voters, according to the Texas Secretary of State.
- Bexar County reported nearly 530,000 early ballots — about 40% of its registered voters — after a final‑day wave of more than 51,000 in‑person votes.
- Long lines and surges pushed large counties to local records: Harris topped one million early voters and Travis, Tarrant and others reported their busiest days and extended hours to handle demand.
- Operational problems emerged when new DS300 ballot scanners in Bexar experienced jams that caused staff to use emergency ballot boxes and to process those ballots later at elections headquarters, and some touchscreen machines showed sensitivity issues that required voters to switch devices.
- Totals remain preliminary because mail ballots postmarked by Election Day can still arrive and each county must finish reconciliations, so Election Day voting on Nov. 3 (polls 7 a.m.–7 p.m.) and outstanding returns will shape the final outcomes in several tight statewide races.