State data show 3.69 million Texans voted in the first five days of early voting. Harris County reports its fastest midterm start in county records dating to 1998. How the numbers compare, and what they do not say.
Texas voters cast 3,688,224 ballots in the first five days of early voting for the Nov. 3 general election, according to the Texas Secretary of State’s daily turnout file for Friday, Oct. 23. That equals 19.4% of the state’s 19,041,684 registered voters, and it is the figure behind talk of a Texas early voting turnout record this fall.
Whether it is a record depends on where and how you measure. Harris County, the state’s largest, says no midterm in its records since 1998 has started faster. Statewide, the raw count in the 30 counties the state tracked daily in 2018 is running well ahead of that year, the last midterm with comparable archived daily reports pulled for this story. Measured as a share of registered voters, those same counties are about even with 2018.
Texas early voting turnout record? The statewide numbers
Through Friday, the Secretary of State’s file counted 3,498,565 in-person voters and 189,659 mail ballots received, as of a file dated Oct. 24, 2026. Daily in-person turnout was highest on opening day and eased through the week:
- Monday, Oct. 19: 782,978
- Tuesday, Oct. 20: 742,645
- Wednesday, Oct. 21: 681,979
- Thursday, Oct. 22: 631,410
- Friday, Oct. 23: 659,389
Those five days already equal about 45% of the 8,102,908 Texans who voted in the entire 2022 general election, according to the Secretary of State’s turnout history. Saturday’s statewide numbers were not complete in the state file when it was checked Sunday morning, and 10 mostly rural counties had not yet posted Friday totals.
Among the biggest counties, the Secretary of State’s file showed Harris at 473,204 voters through Friday, Dallas at 315,090, Tarrant at 260,801, Bexar at 239,736 and Travis at 219,486. As a share of registered voters, Fort Bend led the 10 largest counties at 23.6%, followed by Travis at 23.2% and Denton at 22.6%.
How 2026 compares with 2018
In 2018, the Secretary of State published daily early-vote reports for the 30 counties with the most registered voters. After five days that year, those counties had recorded 2,426,508 voters, or 19.8% of their registered voters, according to the state’s Oct. 26, 2018, report. Early voting began on a Monday in both years, so the five-day windows line up.
The same 30 counties counted 2,957,968 voters after five days this year, about 531,000 more, or roughly 22% higher. Their share of registered voters, 19.75%, is essentially the same as in 2018. The difference is growth: Texas had 15,793,257 registered voters in November 2018 and has 19,041,684 now, an increase of more than 3.2 million.
In-person voting in those counties is running slightly ahead of 2018 as a share of registration (18.8% vs. 17.5%), while mail ballots are a smaller share. State mail counts can trail county counts: in Harris County, the state file showed 29,255 mail ballots through Friday, while the county’s own report showed 32,713.
Harris County’s record start
Harris County’s own numbers show a clear midterm record. On opening day, Oct. 19, the county logged 104,658 in-person early voters, according to the Harris County Clerk’s unofficial daily report. That compares with 63,188 on the first day in 2018, according to the Secretary of State’s 2018 report, and 60,829 on the first day in 2022, according to the county’s 2022 report.
The busiest single day of the entire 2022 early-vote period in Harris County was 104,062 in-person voters on the final Friday.
Through Saturday, Oct. 24, Harris County counted 581,605 early voters: 546,651 in person and 34,954 mail ballots received. That is about 21% of the county’s registered voters. Through the first Saturday in 2018, the state’s report showed 468,549 Harris County early voters. In 2022, the county’s report showed 370,425 through the first Saturday, and 750,349 for the full two-week period.
“No midterm in county records since 1998 has started faster,” ABC13 Houston reported, citing county data. The station also noted that Harris County has about 400,000 more registered voters than in 2018. State figures show 2,746,177 registered voters in the county this year, compared with 2,338,460 in 2018.
The county and state numbers for Harris differ partly because they run on different schedules: when checked Sunday morning, the county’s report ran through Saturday and the state file through Friday.
For Friday itself, the state file showed 59,911 in-person voters in Harris, well below the county’s 95,108. Monday through Thursday, the two sources were within about 100 votes each day, so the state’s Friday entry for Harris appears incomplete, and the statewide total above is likely low. Both are unofficial.
What the numbers do not tell you
Early turnout shows how many people have voted, not how they voted. Texas does not register voters by party, so state turnout data cannot show a partisan split. All early-vote counts are unofficial until each county completes its canvass after Election Day.
Big early totals can also mean voters are shifting when they vote, not only whether they vote. Analysts will not know whether 2026 sets an overall turnout record until all ballots, including Election Day votes, are counted.
Early voting dates, hours and ID in Texas
In-person early voting for the Nov. 3 election runs Oct. 19-30, according to VoteTexas.gov, the Secretary of State’s voter site. Registered voters may vote at any early-voting location in their county, and hours vary by location. In Harris County, polls are open noon to 7 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 25, and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, Oct. 26-30, according to HarrisVotes.com.
On Election Day, polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. statewide. Counties in the countywide polling place program let voters use any vote center in the county; elsewhere, voters must go to their assigned precinct.
Voters who vote in person must show one of seven acceptable forms of photo ID, such as a Texas driver license, a Texas Election Identification Certificate or a U.S. passport, under state voter ID rules. Voters who do not have and cannot reasonably obtain one may show a supporting document, such as a utility bill or voter registration certificate, and sign a Reasonable Impediment Declaration.
The deadline to register for this election was Oct. 5, and the deadline to apply for a mail ballot was Oct. 23, according to VoteTexas.gov.
How to check turnout yourself
The Secretary of State posts daily county-by-county early-vote totals on its early voting turnout page, including in-person and mail counts and registered voters for all 254 counties. Many large counties, including Harris, also post their own daily reports, which often update sooner.
What happens next
Early voting continues through Friday, Oct. 30. The ballot includes the U.S. Senate race between Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico, along with statewide, congressional and local contests. Politics Elections will update these figures as the state posts new data.
About these numbers: Statewide figures are from the Texas Secretary of State’s early-voting file for Oct. 23, 2026 (file dated Oct. 24), and include in-person voters and mail ballots received. The 2018 comparison uses the state’s archived reports for the same 30 counties. Harris County figures are from the County Clerk’s unofficial daily reports. Percentages are Politics Elections calculations.
